They are gutting the most important privacy law you never heard of. | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

They are gutting the most important privacy law you never heard of. | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

THEY ARE GUTTING THE MOST IMPORTANT PRIVACY LAW YOU NEVER HEARD OF

These Republican lawmakers have introduced bills to weaken privacy.

You should have a choice whether a company uses photos of you or your family; you should be told when a company provides thousands of other companies and government entities access to photos of you.  There should be a law against this invasive use of your image and biometric data.  There is.  Illinois has one of the toughest biometrics laws in the country–the 2008 Biometric Information Privacy Act  (BIPA). The New York Times recently published a great piece about the importance of Illinois’ BIPA law: The best law you’ve never heard of.  The author, Shira Ovide, writes about BIPA:

“The law’s text is simple but profound, Adam Schwartz, a senior staff attorney with Electronic Frontier Foundation, told me.

First, companies behind technologies like voice assistants or photo recognition services can’t use people’s biometric details without their knowledge or consent. Few American privacy laws go this far — and probably none will again. Typically we must agree to whatever companies want to do CONTINUE READING: They are gutting the most important privacy law you never heard of. | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Parents: Two ways to ask about your students’ data. | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Parents: Two ways to ask about your students’ data. | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

PARENTS: TWO WAYS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS’ DATA.

Parents, help fill in this FERPA Project Map for the folks at The Student Data Privacy Project.

https://www.studentdataprivacyproject.com/ferpa-project-map

1. This FERPA Map project

is sponsored by our friends at the The Student Data Privacy Project.  Their goal is to highlight the shortcomings of FERPA with regard to protecting student privacy. They state, “We would love to have parents in all 50 states send a letter to their District requesting their child’s data.”  You can click on their website here to request their  FERPA template  letter.  When you send your letter to your district, please copy us, info@studentprivacymatters.org  on your emails to your district. 

2. It’s time we KNOW what data these edtech apps are collecting and how they are being used. 

We at the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy launched our own App Survey in January, for Data Privacy Day 2021. We are researching which edtech apps schools are asking students to use and whether they are sufficiently protective of children’s privacy.  You can take our App Survey here.  

Please let us know what online apps and programs your district or school is using, and check to see if they have been transparent about their privacy policies.  Your name and district will be kept confidential. Thank you to the MANY parents and educators who have already completed this App Survey.  Please continue to share and we will let you know the results soon.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at info@studentprivacymatters.org  

 Parents: Two ways to ask about your students’ data. | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Did College Board change its mind about requiring cameras on this year’s online AP exams? What security software will the online AP require? | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Did College Board change its mind about requiring cameras on this year’s online AP exams? What security software will the online AP require? | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

DID COLLEGE BOARD CHANGE ITS MIND ABOUT REQUIRING CAMERAS ON THIS YEAR’S ONLINE AP EXAMS? 

WHAT SECURITY SOFTWARE WILL THE ONLINE AP REQUIRE?

College Board’s AP Guide said the 2021 Digital AP Exams Require Computers with Cameras–but then changed their mind?

Last week the College Board announced they were making changes to this year’s Advanced Placement exam administration, offering both paper or digital versions.  While reading about the online testing options, on the College Board website, I clicked on this 2021 AP® Exam Administration Planning Guide. (I downloaded and archived the AP Guide here on Feb 5, 2021.) 

This guide said students would  be required to use a computer that has a camera and would have to use their camera to take a picture of their photo ID prior to taking the digital AP exam.  The guide also said that schools must  “push” (install) exam application software on all devices to be used for digital testing, and the College Board also mentioned that the security application would do so. 

The AP planning guide also said,  “The exam application includes security features to detect impersonation, plagiarism, or other cheating attempts, and restricts students from returning to answered questions or moving back and forth between unanswered questions.” [emphasis added]

 

 

I asked the College Board (on twitter) if students would be required CONTINUE READING: Did College Board change its mind about requiring cameras on this year’s online AP exams? What security software will the online AP require? | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Google Lawsuit, COPPA, Investigating and Blocking Ad Trackers in Children’s Apps | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Google Lawsuit, COPPA, Investigating and Blocking Ad Trackers in Children’s Apps | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

GOOGLE LAWSUIT, COPPA, INVESTIGATING AND BLOCKING AD TRACKERS IN CHILDREN’S APPS

There was some big news last week on the children’s privacy front: A District Judge has ruled that Google and the apps they sell on their “store” cannot  dodge a lawsuit brought by the New Mexico Attorney General. Previously, a state court had said the case couldn’t proceed, but thanks to this decision, Google will face claims that apps they hosted in the “Designed for Families” section of their Google Play Store, and ad networks they employed, had actual knowledge they were targeting and marketing children’s data, in violation of COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The apps in question are owned by Tiny Lab Productions.

This court case will be significant in highlighting how apps use cookies and advertising tools to track children across the web. As explained in the decision, 

“Tiny Lab Productions (“Tiny Lab”), a Lithuanian company, is a developer of child-directed, mobile game apps including Fun Kid Racing, Candy Land Racing, Baby Toilet Race: Cleanup Fun, and GummyBear and Friends Speed Racing. AdMob [AdMob is owned by Google], Twitter/MoPub, InMobi/AerServ, Applovin, and ironSource (collectively, the “Ad Networks”) sold their proprietary software development kits (“SDKs”) to Tiny Lab for installation and use in its gaming apps. Id. ¶ 13. When a Tiny CONTINUE READING: Google Lawsuit, COPPA, Investigating and Blocking Ad Trackers in Children’s Apps | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Take our App Survey

For Data Privacy Day — take our Survey: online apps used by districts and their privacy provisions

In honor of World Data Privacy Day, on January 28, we launched an App Survey for parents, asking what apps your school uses and what privacy protections and transparency notifications are in place.  The response has been incredible and we encourage all parents to share and take this survey; of course your answers will remain confidential. Click here to take the survey and if you happen to install ad blockers, let us know what you find!  

uBlock and AP Classroom trackers

Blacklight and Google Classroom ad trackers

For Data Privacy Day — take our Survey: online apps used by districts and their privacy provisions

For Data Privacy Day — take our Survey: online apps used by districts and their privacy provisions | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

For Data Privacy Day — take our Survey: online apps used by districts and their privacy provisions | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

FOR DATA PRIVACY DAY — TAKE OUR SURVEY: ONLINE APPS USED BY DISTRICTS AND THEIR PRIVACY PROVISIONS

Today, January 28th is Data Privacy Day, the international annual day of action and awareness to promote the privacy of our personal data.

The Parent Coalition for Student Privacy is researching which ed tech apps schools are asking students to use and whether they are sufficiently protective of children’s privacy.

Since the pandemic hit, school districts across the nation have purchased many commercially-produced online apps and programs to implement remote learning. Even before last spring, districts had been using a large number of programs, many of which have access to personal student information. Many of these apps collect and use personal student data in ways that are not transparent and we do not understand.

More recently, this past December, the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) warned about “malicious cyber actors … targeting kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) educational institutions, leading to ransomware attacks, the theft of data, and the disruption of distance learning services.” This follows another warning the FBI put out in 2018 that the use of ed tech apps in schools posed a serious threat to children’s privacy and safety.

Please let us know what online apps and programs your district or school is using, and check to see if they have been transparent about their privacy policies. Your name and district will be kept confidential.

Click here to take the survey.

On Data Privacy Day and every day, it is important to protect children’s information. Below are a few resources to help.

The 2019 State Student Privacy Report Card lists and rates state laws based on Transparency, Parental and Student Rights; Limitations on Commercial Use of Data; Data Security Requirements; and Oversight, Enforcement, and Penalties for Violations. https://studentprivacymatters.org/map/map.html

Federal Laws enabling parents to protect their Children’s Privacy: FERPA, PPRA and COPPA https://studentprivacymatters.org/ferpa_ppra_coppa/ . Read how FERPA was weakened here and how to request to inspect your child’s education record maintained by your school or the state here.

Parent Toolkit for Student Privacy https://www.studentprivacymatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Parent-Toolkit-for-Student-Privacy.pdf

Top 10 back to school privacy tips and resources https://studentprivacymatters.org/top-10-back-to-school-student-privacy-tips-and-resources-for-parents/

For Data Privacy Day — take our Survey: online apps used by districts and their privacy provisions | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Washington Privacy Act, SB5062, does not go far enough to protect consumers or students | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Washington Privacy Act, SB5062, does not go far enough to protect consumers or students | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

WASHINGTON PRIVACY ACT, SB5062, DOES NOT GO FAR ENOUGH TO PROTECT CONSUMERS OR STUDENTS

On January 14, 2021, the Washington state legislature will hold a hearing on a privacy bill, The Washington Privacy Act, SB 5062 which is weak and does not fully protect consumers’ right to privacy: 

• SB5062 does nothing to better protect educational, teacher, or student data. 
• SB5062 does not apply to state or local government agencies.
• SB5062 has many limitations and exemptions that allow the selling of user data or its use for marketing purposes: 
  • SB5062  allows corporations and other third parties to sell your data or use it for marketing purposes UNLESS you  expressly opt out.
  • If you do opt out, companies can charge you a higher price for their services.
• Even then, consumers  can only “opt out” of the collection and use of personal data for certain purposes.” 
  • Instead, companies should be required to get prior consent or “opt in” for any disclosure of your personal data, including its use for marketing or sale. 
• Finally, SB5062 does not allow people to hold companies accountable for violating their privacy rights by suing, if they’ve violated the law or your decision to opt out.

 We agree with this Seattle Times op-ed: Washington needs a privacy law that protects people, not corporations. Oppose CONTINUE READING: Washington Privacy Act, SB5062, does not go far enough to protect consumers or students | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Parents of Disabled Students: Do NOT Grant College Board Unlimited Access to Your Child’s Sensitive Information | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Parents of Disabled Students: Do NOT Grant College Board Unlimited Access to Your Child’s Sensitive Information | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

PARENTS OF DISABLED STUDENTS: DO NOT GRANT COLLEGE BOARD UNLIMITED ACCESS TO YOUR CHILD’S SENSITIVE INFORMATION

We recently received a query from a Chicago parent whose child has a disability, and was seeking an accommodation when taking a College Board test. Her child’s high school asked her to sign a SSD Accommodation Consent form allowing her school to disclose her child’s disability records, as well as “any other information in the school’s custody that the College Board requests for the purpose of determining my eligibility for testing accommodations on College Board tests“.  The form also grants the “College Board permission “to discuss my disability and needs with school personnel and other professionals.” 

The Chicago parent was concerned with these overly broad permissions and crossed out portions that she disagreed with. Unfortunately for this parent, she subsequently discovered that her child’s previous high school had apparently already released confidential information to the College Board without asking for her consent.  

We wonder if this has happened to other parents. Have parents been asked to sign this form authorizing the school to release their children’s highly sensitive disability information, or worse, have CONTINUE READING: Parents of Disabled Students: Do NOT Grant College Board Unlimited Access to Your Child’s Sensitive Information | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Please give so we can continue our work for smaller classes & student privacy in 2021 | Class Size Matters

Please give so we can continue our work for smaller classes & student privacy in 2021 | Class Size Matters  | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

Please give so we can continue our work for smaller classes & student privacy in 2021

Dear Friends —

2020 was a difficult year for Class Size Matters as it was for many non-profits. If you support our mission of smaller classes, so that all students no matter what their background can receive the help and feedback from teachers they need for an equitable opportunity to learn, please make a tax-deductible donation now. We were unable to hold our usual annual fundraiser in the spring because of the pandemic, so we really would value your contributions at this time.

Some highlights of our efforts this year: In February, standing-room only hearings were held at City Hall on the necessity to lower class size in the public schools. We used that opportunity to urge the City Council to allocate specific funding for that end. Parents, educators, students and top officials, including Kathleen Cashin, Board of Regents member, testified that this would provide the transformational change that NYC students need and deserve, especially as class sizes are out of control in many neighborhood schools and remain 15-30% larger on average than in the rest of the state.

And then the pandemic hit in March, causing a plunge in city tax revenues and proposals by the city to slash the education budget.

Our efforts quickly pivoted to trying to prevent damaging cuts to critical programs and drawing attention to wasteful DOE spending. We were the first advocates to blow the whistle on the DOE’s plan to fully fund school bus companies to the tune of $1.1 billion per year – even as buses had been sitting idle for months in parking lots and garages across the city.  Because of the consequent uproar, the city renegotiated these contracts, leading to savings of at least $200 million.

We also brought attention to the huge class sizes that students were subjected to while engaged in online learning, as well as the risk to their privacy.   DOE has encouraged schools to use hundreds of commercially-prepared ed tech programs, with no evidence they complied with the provisions of the NY state student privacy law that we had pushed for and that had come into full force in January 2020.

If you would like us to continue to advocate for students to receive the full academic and emotional support next year that they will need more than ever before, rather than double down on online learning, as the Chancellor has proposed, and that DOE should cease spending millions on wasteful contracts and unnecessary programs, please show your support by donating here, or by sending a check to Class Size Matters, 124 Waverly Pl., New York NY 10011.

Hoping you and your families have a safe and happy New Year,

Leonie

P.S. You can check out last week’s “Talk out of School” podcast interview with parent activist Shino Tanikawa about the changed middle and high school admissions policies for next year and what they will and won’t accomplish. Please listen if you can, and let me know what you think. You can also subscribe to the podcast at that link or at Apple iTunes, Google, or Spotify.

Please give so we can continue our work for smaller classes & student privacy in 2021 | Class Size Matters  | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

NYC Public School Parents: Please give so we can continue our work for education equity, smaller classes & student privacy in 2021

NYC Public School Parents: Please give so we can continue our work for education equity, smaller classes & student privacy in 2021

Please give so we can continue our work for education equity, smaller classes & student privacy in 2021

And a recap of a difficult, extraordinary year...

Dear friend --- 

2020 was a difficult year for Class Size Matters as it was for many non-profits. If you support our mission of smaller classes, so that all students no matter what their background can receive the help and feedback from teachers they need for an equitable opportunity to learn, please make a tax-deductible donation now. We were unable to hold our usual annual fundraiser in the spring because of the pandemic, so we really would value your contributions at this time.

Some highlights of our efforts this year: In February, standing-room only hearings were held at City Hall on the necessity to lower class size in the public schools. We used that opportunity to urge the City Council to allocate specific funding for that end. Parents, educators, students and top officials, including Kathleen Cashin, Board of Regents member, testified that this would provide the transformational change that NYC students need and deserve, especially as class sizes are out of control in many neighborhood schools and remain 15-30% larger on average than in the rest of the state.

And then the pandemic hit in March, causing a plunge in city tax revenues and proposals by the city to slash the education budget.

Our efforts quickly pivoted to trying to prevent damaging cuts to critical programs and drawing attention to wasteful DOE spending. We were the first advocates to blow the whistle on the DOE’s plan to fully fund school bus companies to the tune of $1.1 billion per year – even as buses had been sitting idle for months in parking lots and garages across the city.  Because of the consequent uproar, the city renegotiated these contracts, leading to savings of at least $200 million.

We also brought attention to the huge class sizes that students were subjected to while engaged in online learning, as well as the risk to their privacy.   DOE has encouraged schools to use hundreds of commercially-prepared ed tech programs, with no evidence they complied with the provisions of the NY state student privacy law that we had pushed for and that had come into full force in January 2020.

If you would like us to continue to advocate for students to receive the full academic and emotional support next year that they will need more than ever before, rather than double down on online learning, as the Chancellor has proposed, and that DOE should cease spending millions on wasteful contracts and unnecessary programs, please show your support by donating here, or by sending a check to Class Size Matters, 124 Waverly Pl., New York NY 10011.

Hoping you and your families have a safe and happy New Year, Leonie

P.S. You can check out last week's “Talk out of School” podcast interview with parent activist Shino Tanikawa about the changed middle and high school admissions policies for next year and what they will and won’t accomplish. Please listen if you can, and let me know what you think. You can also subscribe to the podcast at that link or at Apple iTunes, Google, or Spotify.

NYC Public School Parents: Please give so we can continue our work for education equity, smaller classes & student privacy in 2021

How students should be protected from surveillance during remote learning | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

How students should be protected from surveillance during remote learning | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

HOW STUDENTS SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM SURVEILLANCE DURING REMOTE LEARNING

December 2020

Endorsed by Access Living, ACLU of Illinois, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Children’s Screen Time Action Network, Civitas ChildLaw Center, Hartlieb & Horste, LLC, Illinois Families for Public Schools, Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public EducationDownloadable as a Full document | or a one-page Summary

Many US public schools have been operating remotely since March, either full-time or part-time as a result of the Covid pandemic.  And with infection rates steeply increasing in the US, the timing of any return to fully in-person schooling remains uncertain.

The use of technology was widespread even before this spring. Now its use is nearly universal. But tech use should not impinge on students’ right to privacy and access to schooling.

In a recent national survey, 60% of educators said students would face negative consequences for having cameras off.   However, students should never be forced to choose between maintaining their privacy and receiving an education .  Moreover, surveillance does not equal safety.

Surveillance can be especially stressful for disadvantaged students, CONTINUE READING: How students should be protected from surveillance during remote learning | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Deadlines for in-person schooling, class size reporting, and questions about DOE’s protection of student data | Class Size Matters

Deadlines for in-person schooling, class size reporting, and questions about DOE’s protection of student data | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

Deadlines for in-person schooling, class size reporting, and questions about DOE’s protection of student data

Dear Friends,

1/ Today, Thursday Nov. 12 at 6:30 PM, I’ll be speaking at an online forum hosted by Brooklyn for Peace about how the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the inequities that already exist within our public school system. You can find more information about this forum and sign up to attend here.

2/ The DOE deadline for parents to opt for in-person learning for their kids is Sunday Nov. 15; you can do that here. Meanwhile, the city’s infection rate is creeping up and was 2.5% yesterday. Even though the random testing shows the infection rate inside schools is only about .18%, the Mayor has said all schools will be closed when the citywide rate rises to 3%.

While de Blasio has insisted that this may will be your only chance to opt-into in person learning for your child, more recently the Chancellor said that there indeed may be more opportunities later this year. As I said in this article, it is highly unfair and irrational to close off the possibility of parents opting in later in the year, especially as there may be a vaccine available as soon as April.

3/ Nov. 15 is also the legal deadline for the DOE to report class sizes by school and grade level. Much thanks to CM Mark Treyger, who wrote a letter to the Chancellor urging him to make the deadline, and to report separately class sizes of in-person classes vs remote classes, especially as many parents and students have reported that the latter can be as large as sixty, eighty students or more. Chalkbeat wrote an article about the importance of disaggregated data, and I blogged about this issue here.

4/ We are also very concerned about the privacy of student data, especially as DOE has hurriedly acquired at least 100 ed tech programs and has told schools that they “must have a shared, inclusive and digital curriculum in all core subject areas”. And yet many of the publicly available privacy policies of these products do not comply with state law, as they allow for the commercialization or sale of student data, or do not sufficiently protect it from breaches. See the letter sent by Sen. Brad Hoylman to the Chancellor, asking that the DOE post all the contractual Parent Bill of Rights agreements with these vendors, to ensure that student privacy is rigorously protected. The DOE has failed to post any of them so far, even though this is also required by the state law. Chalkbeat reported on this non-compliance with the law on the part of the DOE, and I provided more detail about our concerns here.

If you haven’t already, please respond to our parent/teacher/student survey to let us know which online apps your children have been assigned; you can also check the privacy grades of some of the products that we know DOE is encouraging schools to use.

Thanks as always for your help,

Leonie

Deadlines for in-person schooling, class size reporting, and questions about DOE’s protection of student data | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes