The strongest Student Data Privacy Law in the nation (Act 837) came under attack on the Senate floor on Friday (6/5/15) when HB 718 (Schroder) was passed. Using the excuses that the current law prevents districts from using student data to publish yearbooks and sports programs and that teachers are being prevented from hanging children’s artwork in the classroom, the districts came up with this bill – HB 718 (Schroder). Well, this bill does a lot more than just allow teachers to hang artwork.
The current law was not intended, nor does it prevent teachers from hanging artwork. But in an effort to make the law seem unworkable, the districts and Department of Education attorneys have “interpreted” it to be so scary that teachers and districts just can’t function.
Well, Districts, have no fear because HB 718 (Schroder) is here!
HB 718:
· Extends the date the districts have to comply from June 1, 2015 to August 1, 2015
· The section where parental consent for data being shared with LOSFA must be secured annually is changed so that data will be shared unless parents withdraw their original consent.
· Allows current contracts that the districts have procured through the state to not have to follow the law until the contracts come up for renewal.
· Allows the districts to share students’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII) with the state.
· Allows the districts to contract with public entities and allow public entities to store PII as a part of those newly allowable contracts. (This is exactly what the law was created to stop in the first place!!!)
The law was originally written to keep our students’ information at the district level and to prevent the state Department of Education from having unfettered access to our students’ personal information. If HB 718 (Schroder) passes, the districts will just have to contract with the state in order for the state to get our children’s information:
The state has already entered into a data sharing agreement with a third party vendor for the purpose of storing the data which they cannot even legally access. This agreement is with eScholar. The best part is that this agreement provides that the state will own the data and even gives John White—yes, the same John White who gave our children’s social security numbers to inBloom—sole discretion over who will have access to it:
The current law was not intended, nor does it prevent teachers from hanging artwork. But in an effort to make the law seem unworkable, the districts and Department of Education attorneys have “interpreted” it to be so scary that teachers and districts just can’t function.
Well, Districts, have no fear because HB 718 (Schroder) is here!
HB 718:
· Extends the date the districts have to comply from June 1, 2015 to August 1, 2015
· The section where parental consent for data being shared with LOSFA must be secured annually is changed so that data will be shared unless parents withdraw their original consent.
· Allows current contracts that the districts have procured through the state to not have to follow the law until the contracts come up for renewal.
· Allows the districts to share students’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII) with the state.
· Allows the districts to contract with public entities and allow public entities to store PII as a part of those newly allowable contracts. (This is exactly what the law was created to stop in the first place!!!)
The law was originally written to keep our students’ information at the district level and to prevent the state Department of Education from having unfettered access to our students’ personal information. If HB 718 (Schroder) passes, the districts will just have to contract with the state in order for the state to get our children’s information:
The state has already entered into a data sharing agreement with a third party vendor for the purpose of storing the data which they cannot even legally access. This agreement is with eScholar. The best part is that this agreement provides that the state will own the data and even gives John White—yes, the same John White who gave our children’s social security numbers to inBloom—sole discretion over who will have access to it:
This agreement even provides that once the contract is terminated, these provisions will survive. The agreement also requires that the districts sign an addendum stating that they agree to these provisions.
So, the bottom line is that Rep. Schroder sponsored the strongest data privacy law in the nation last year (Act 837); and, this year, he is sponsoring HB 718 which weakens the law in many ways (some that we have not mentioned here) and undoes the very protections for our children that Act 837 provided.
HB 718 (Schroder) actually puts us right back where we started; but, instead of the districts (through the state) sharing our children’s information with inBloom, they will share it with eScholar---a move made possible by HB 718.
InBloom and eScholar are both data warehouses & John White will have used both to share our children’s personally identifiable information without our consent.
The bottom, bottom line is that HB 718 (Schroder) enables the State Dept. of Ed. to finally complete its longitudinal database for tracking our children cradle to grave.
So, the bottom line is that Rep. Schroder sponsored the strongest data privacy law in the nation last year (Act 837); and, this year, he is sponsoring HB 718 which weakens the law in many ways (some that we have not mentioned here) and undoes the very protections for our children that Act 837 provided.
HB 718 (Schroder) actually puts us right back where we started; but, instead of the districts (through the state) sharing our children’s information with inBloom, they will share it with eScholar---a move made possible by HB 718.
InBloom and eScholar are both data warehouses & John White will have used both to share our children’s personally identifiable information without our consent.
The bottom, bottom line is that HB 718 (Schroder) enables the State Dept. of Ed. to finally complete its longitudinal database for tracking our children cradle to grave.