Posted: | September 4, 2015 12:06 PM |
---|---|
From: | Representative Dan L. Miller and Rep. Tedd C. Nesbit |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Student Data Privacy and Protection bill package |
In the near future, we are planning to introduce two (2) separate bills designed to protect Pennsylvania’s elementary and secondary school students from abuses that could occur when their personal student data flows into the new world of education technology applications and websites. This legislation will be based primarily on two bills enacted by the California legislature last year (Assembly Bill No. 1584 and Senate Bill No. 1177), along with reference to the “Student Digital Privacy Rights Act of 2015,” which is currently before the U.S. Congress. As students across the Commonwealth are returning to school from their summer break, this is a good time to focus on the security of their personal information as students. With recent advances in technology, more and more teachers are seeking ways to innovate and connect with today’s students through online-based tools designed by a third-party. Some of these tools are collecting huge amounts of student data with varying policies on what is being collected and how that information is handled. While some third-party vendors’ policies are clearly detailed and easily accessible, many are not, and their policies vary greatly. Moreover, current state and federal laws provide little protection for student data in such instances. Indeed, these findings were recently reflected in news articles on student data privacy by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which asked 31 Pennsylvania school systems to “provide all agreements with vendors that receive student data, and all policies related to the use of websites, applications and other education technology tools.” Oftentimes students are being asked by teachers to utilize various applications, however, insufficient protections are in place to address the gathering, usage, storage, compilation, possible sale, disclosure, deletion, and other aspects of their personal data when they access these “apps” provided by “ed-tech” companies. In this digital age, with all of the wondrous advances in technology that our students enjoy, parents need assurance that the data being collected on their children is being properly handled with sufficient privacy and security measures in place to prevent abuses from taking place. Our two-bill package will include: Bill #1 - Protect Student Online Personal Information Bill #2 – Authorize Third-Party Contracts for Digital Storage Services/Educational Software |
Introduced as HB1635
Description: | Bill #1 - Protect Student Online Personal Information
|
|
---|---|---|
Introduced as HB1636
Description: | Bill #2 – Authorize Third-Party Contracts for Digital Storage Services/Educational Software
|
|
---|---|---|