NPR – Anya Kamenetz
“Several efforts in Washington are converging on the sensitive question of how best to safeguard the information software programs are gathering on students. A proposed Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act of 2015 is circulating in draft form. It has bipartisan sponsorship from Democratic Rep. Jared S. Polis of Colorado and Republican Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana. Drafted with White House input, the bill joins a previous Senate proposal, plus much action on the state level, from regulators, and from industry and other sector leaders. Consumer groups like Common Sense Media and companies like Microsoft have spoken positively of the bill. But some student-privacy advocates are saying it doesn’t go far enough in restricting what private companies can do with student data. “It is a start to try to get at a very complex issue,” says Elana Zeide, an expert on student privacy at the Information Law Institute of New York University, who saw an earlier draft of the bill. “But it’s not going to satisfy a lot of parent advocates, because it leaves a lot of discretion to schools and companies.” Mike Goldstein, who works with education clients at the law firm Cooley, says there’s been an “explosion” of interest in privacy issues over the past five years. Technological advances have schools and universities outsourcing many more basic functions than in years past. Everything from grade books to tests to entire academic programs, he adds, is being handled by third-party, for-profit providers.”(more)