Lavanya Sathyamurthy writes:
Schools now depend on an average of 2,591 edtech tools in a single school year, according to one estimate. These tools can track private conversations between teachers and families and store comprehensive academic and personal records. Yet many companies do not clearly disclose how they collect and use student information. According to one nonprofit, 96% of apps used in schools share student data, such as email addresses and birth dates, with third parties, such as advertising entities. This often occurs without parental or student consent and, therefore, is likely in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
FERPA is a federal law that requires educational institutions that receive federal funding, as well as third parties with whom they share student data, to protect the privacy of student educational records. Institutions must obtain consent from either the parent or student, if the student is 18 or older, prior to releasing these records and maintain reasonable measures to keep education records secure, such as by utilizing password-protected portals and overseeing third parties’ use of data.
The Department of Education is solely responsible for enforcing various federal education regulations, including FERPA. Given the Department of Education’s impending closure and the increasing use of student data by educational technology vendors, Congress should amend FERPA to hold these vendors, rather than the schools, directly responsible for vendor compliance.
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