Sen. McMath has filed SB 229, and wouldn't you know, the Student Data Privacy Law is under attack...again. If passed, this bill will allow the Board of Regents, the state Department of Education, and the Louisiana Workforce Commission to share personally identifiable student information of students earning industry-based credentials...without parental consent or consent of students who have reached the age of maturity.
Sen. McMath's bill literally cancels the intent of the Student Data Privacy Law in that it: (1) requires secondary schools to collect information the law forbids them from collecting; and, (2) specifically allows for the sharing of personally identifiable information:
"(2) The governing authority of each public secondary school shall collect the following personally identifiable information for each public secondary school graduate who earned an industry-based credential:
(a) Full name.
(b) Date of birth.
(c) Social security number.
(d) Industry-based credential earned.
(3) Each public postsecondary education institution shall collect the following personally identifiable information for each of its students who earned an industry-based credential at a public secondary school in Louisiana:
(a) Full name.
(b) Date of birth.
(c) Social security number.
(d) Industry-based credential earned.
(4) The governing authority of each public secondary school shall disclose information collected pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection and each public postsecondary education institution shall disclose information collected pursuant to Paragraph (2) of this Subsection to the Louisiana Workforce Commission..."
Louisiana's Student Data Privacy Law was passed unanimously through all committees and both chambers as Act 837 of the 2014 legislative session. It is the strongest student data privacy law in the nation. At that time, the Louisiana Workforce Commission (and many others) made our legislature very aware of their strong desire to track our children, and the legislature said "NO!"
Now, Sen. McMath wants to weaken the law, undo its protections, and allow certain children to be tracked like tagged animals in the wild.
The state told us that these programs would work and be beneficial. Now, it seems that they are not very sure. So, the solution to their uncertainty is that a select group of children must relinquish their rights to privacy, and certain parents must hand over to the state their rights/responsibilities to decide when and with whom their children's personally identifiable information will be shared?!?
Please, call Sen. McMath at (985) 900-6278. Tell him he made a mistake with this bill, and he needs to pull it. Remind him that the law that he is trying to amend with SB 229 (R.S. 17:3914) actually begins like this:
"The legislature hereby declares that all personally identifiable information is protected as a right to privacy under the Constitution of Louisiana and the Constitution of the United States."
Tell him that THIS PROTECTION EXISTS FOR ALL STUDENTS - whether or not they seek industry credentials.
Much as he and the industries might not like it, those children are still the wards of their parents - not of the state or its corporate sponsors!