We are concerned by our government’s push to collect increasing amounts of data about our school children. Child data is now stored & distributed across a growing number of databases & is being accessed by a wider range of public & private groups.
States rushed into child data programs, in part, to obtain Department of Education (“DOE”) grants via No Child Left Behind & Race to the Top (“RTTP”). In ‘08 and ‘11, the DOE “amended” the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (“FERPA”), weakening privacy rights & expanding the scope of entities able to access data.
We urge the President & DOE to: Reverse FERPA changes; remove RTTP child database requirements & instead encourage use of surveys & sampling for measurement; provide parents w/opt-in/opt-out; work w/Congress to strengthen FERPA.