Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has introduced the Student Privacy Protection Act to update the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) by “implementing new guidelines for schools and educational agencies that release education records to third parties,” including data belonging to homeschooled children.
The legislation would require educational agencies to receive consent from students or parents before collecting data, and hold such agencies (along with schools and third parties) liable through monetary fines for failing to get consent liable, a release form Sen. Vitter's office said.
Late last month, another student privacy bill aimed at restricting how educational data belonging to K-12 students can be used by businesses, was introduced in the House by Reps. Luke Messer, R-Ind., and Jared Polis, D-Colo. That bill had the support of nearly two dozen organizations, including Microsoft, the Center for Democracy and Technology and the National Education Association.
