PRINTER'S NO. 2385
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1636
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY D. MILLER, NESBIT, MURT, ENGLISH, D. COSTA, ROZZI,
PASHINSKI, THOMAS, SCHLOSSBERG, CUTLER, BIZZARRO, GROVE,
SAYLOR, NEILSON, COHEN, LAWRENCE, HENNESSEY, DRISCOLL AND
KAUFER, OCTOBER 19, 2015
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, OCTOBER 19, 2015
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," in preliminary provisions, providing
for contracts relating to student records.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
section to read:
Section 124. Contracts Relating to Student Records.--(a) A
school entity may, pursuant to a policy adopted by its board of
school directors or, in the case of a charter school, its
governing body, enter into a contract with a third party for
either or both of the following purposes:
(1) To provide services, including cloud-based services, for
the digital storage, management and retrieval of student
records.
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(2) To provide digital educational software that authorizes
a third-party provider of digital educational software to
access, store and use student records in accordance with the
contractual provisions listed in subsection (b).
(b) A school entity that enters into a contract with a third
party for purposes of subsection (a) shall ensure the contract
contains all of the following:
(1) A statement that student records continue to be the
property of and under the control of the school entity.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a description of the
means by which students may retain possession and control of
their own student-generated content, if applicable, including
options by which a student may transfer student-generated
content to a personal account.
(3) A prohibition against the third party using any
information in the student record for any purpose other than
those required or specifically permitted by the contract.
(4) A description of the procedures by which a parent, legal
guardian or eligible student may review personally identifiable
information in the student's records and correct erroneous
information.
(5) A description of the actions the third party will take,
including the designation and training of responsible
individuals, to ensure the security and confidentiality of
student records. Compliance with this paragraph shall not, in
itself, relieve the third party of liability in the event of an
unauthorized disclosure of student records.
(6) A description of the procedures for notifying the
affected parent, legal guardian or eligible student in the event
of an unauthorized disclosure of the student's records.
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(7) A certification that a student's records shall not be
retained or available to the third party upon completion of the
terms of the contract and a description of how that
certification will be enforced. This paragraph shall not apply
to student-generated content if the student chooses to establish
or maintain an account with the third party for the purpose of
storing that content pursuant to paragraph (2).
(8) A description of how the school entity and the third
party will jointly ensure compliance with the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (Public Law 90-247, 20 U.S.C. ยง 1232g).
(9) A prohibition against the third party using personally
identifiable information in student records to engage in
targeted advertising.
(c) In addition to any other penalties, a contract that
fails to comply with the requirements of this section shall be
rendered void if, upon notice and a reasonable opportunity to
cure, the noncompliant party fails to come into compliance and
cure any defect. Written notice of noncompliance may be provided
by any party to the contract. All parties subject to a contract
voided under this section shall return all student records in
their possession to the local educational agency.
(d) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Deidentified information." Information that cannot be used
to identify an individual student.
"Eligible student." A student who has reached 18 years of
age.
"School entity." A school district, private school, charter
school, vocational-technical school and intermediate unit.
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"Student records."
(a) The term includes, but is not limited to:
(1) Any information directly related to a student that is
maintained by the school entity.
(2) Any information acquired directly from the student
through the use of instructional software or application
assigned to the student by a teacher or other school entity
employe.
(b) The term does not mean any of the following:
(1) Deidentified information, including aggregated
deidentified information, used by a third party to improve
instructional software or application for adaptive learning
purposes and for customizing student learning.
(2) Deidentified information, including aggregated
deidentified information, used to demonstrate the effectiveness
of the instructional software or application in the marketing of
the instructional software or application.
(3) Deidentified information, including aggregated
deidentified information, used for the development and
improvement of educational sites, services or applications.
"Student-generated content." Materials created by a student,
including, but not limited to, essays, research reports,
portfolios, creative writing, music or other audio files,
photographs and account information that enables ongoing
ownership of student content. The term does not include student
responses to a standardized assessment where student possession
and control would jeopardize the validity and reliability of the
assessment.
"Third party." A provider of digital educational software or
services, including cloud-based services, for the digital
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storage, management and retrieval of student records.
Section 2. If the provisions of this act are in conflict
with the terms of a contract in effect before the effective date
of this section, the provisions of this act shall not apply to
the school entity or the third party subject to the contract
until the expiration, amendment or renewal of the contract.
Section 3. Nothing in this act shall be construed to impose
liability on a third party as defined by section 124 of the act
for content provided by any other third party.
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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