Connecticut legislators don’t want to protect students after all. Attacking Student Data Privacy Law–AGAIN
I am reblogging this from my friend Cheri Kiesecker’s Blog Missouri Education Watchdog:
Connecticut passed a student data privacy and transparency bill, Public Act 189, in 2016.
The bill adopted common sense policies associated with contracts between school districts and corporations that collect, maintain, and share student data. The CT law does NOT limit data collection, does not require parental consent prior to collecting data, it only asks that NEW or renewed contracts and bids collecting student data must handle data appropriately. The law requires parents to be notified if their child’s data is breached. To their credit, the CT Commission on Educational Technology has done great work and is prepared and ready for this law to be implemented. You can see their plan here: Operationalizing Public Act 189.
Why then, are some lawmakers in CT introducing bills to cripple this new law that protects student data privacy? Do they not think that keeping student data safe, notifying parents of a breach is important?
You may remember one Connecticut legislator introduced a bill in January to entirely repeal this new student privacy law. As CT blogger and parent Jonathon Pelto wrote,
“…in an astonishing, baffling and extremely disturbing move, State Representative Stephen Harding (R-107th District) has introduced legislation (HB 5233) to repeal this important law (Public Act 16-189)…It is not clear who would ask Representative Harding to propose such a bill or why the representative would seek to do such harm to Connecticut’s students, parents and public schools.”
Fortunately, Representative Harding withdrew the bill after receiving much Connecticut legislators don’t want to protect students after all. Attacking Student Data Privacy Law–AGAIN | Poetic Justice: