Rep. Elizabeth Scott
Washington State Representative Elizabeth Scott (R-Monroe) introduced a state bill, “HB 2133: Maintaining Privacy of Student Education Records,” this week that aims to protect the educational privacy rights of students. Parent advocacy group Stop Common Core in Washington State is urging local residents, teachers, and students to contact their legislators to offer support for the bill, for which Scott is still seeking cosponsors.
The bill charges that the federal government, in seeking to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) across the country, “has demonstrated a disregard for student privacy rights including through amendments…that broaden access to student records without the written consent of students and their parents or guardians,” and that Washington’s participation in the CCSS implementation efforts will further erode these rights in the state.
Therefore, the bill requires the state’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to:
- Conduct a detailed analysis of documents and agreements by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Office of Financial Management (OFM), and school districts related to the collection, sharing, storage, security, dissemination, and access to personally identifiable student data to determine what data can be shared, under those agreements, without written consent of students/parents.The bill specifies that this analysis should include but not be limited the federal Race to the Top grant applications submitted by Washington State, and such documents as those related to the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC); the Student Longitudinal Data System; and the ESEA waiver.
- Analyze 2011 amendments to the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to determine the extent they permit sharing of student data.
- Submit analysis to the legislative Education Committees by September 1, 2014, to allow the legislature to review the results and, if necessary, direct the withdrawal of Washington State from any multi-state assessment consortium that disseminates personally-identifiable student data without written consent.
- Review documents and agreements, on an annual basis, that are related to personally identifiable student data, if Washington remains a member of the SBAC after 2015 or becomes a member of any other multi-state assessment consortium after the bill takes effect. This annual review is meant to determine any changes to the above findings; if found, these must immediately be forwarded to the Education Committees.
Stop Common Core in Washington State is also urging residents to request that their legislators schedule a hearing for the bill once the 2014 legislative session begins on January 13.