BILL NUMBER:  S7414A

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the education law, in relation to personal information
in school directories


 PURPOSE :

To keep a child's personal contact information private by restricting
how and what information a school district, or school related
association, can release to a third party vendor.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1 adds a new section to education law, 3212-B, which states
that a school district or school related association cannot release
any students school directory, personal contact information, without
first getting written consent from the students parents, or the
student themselves if he/she is over the age of 18. This consent form
shall be sent out once a year, each year, at the beginning of the
school year. A student's school directory personal contact information
is defined as a phone number, email address, or "any other information
that may be used to contact the student directly".  However, such
information may be provided without written consent to school district
              

personal within that students district, or individuals from another
school district if said student switches districts due to a move or
transfer. Lastly, such information may also be provided to a local,
county, or state agency when necessary.

Section 1-2 states that a school district or school related
association may disclose a student's school directory information to a
third party vendor without getting written consent first, provided
that:

As Section 1-2A states, that information does not include a student's
contact information and...

As Section 1-2B states, that a school district or school related
association first gives explicit written notice to the parents (or
student if he/she is over the age of 18) stating that this information
may be released and that the parents (or student) can opt out of
having it released, if they so choose, by filling out a form and
turning it over to the authorities at the school that the child
attends. Information that can be released without the express written
approval of parents (or the student) includes the name of the student,
the grade level of the student, the age of the student, the date and
place of birth of the student, any participation in officially
recognized activities and sports programs that the student
participates in, the height and weight of the student, the dates of
school attendance of the student, any degrees or awards that the
student received, and the most recent educational agency or
institution that the student attended.

Section 2 states that, pursuant to the federal No Child Left Behind
Act (NCLB), the Military and Higher Education Institutions shall have
access to a student's name, address, and phone number without having
to first acquire a written, opt-in, provision from a student who is
over the age of 18, or the students parents if he/she is under the age
of 18. However, a student over the age of 18, or his/her parents if
they are under 18, may fill out an opt-out provision that forbids the
Military and Higher Education Institutions from acquiring this
information.

Section 3 states that this bill will take effect immediately.
 JUSTIFICATION :

Currently, under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act
(F.E.R.P.A), a school district is allowed to release a student's
personal contact information to a third party vendor that it does
business with. Examples of the types of organizations that can acquire
this information are companies that make class rings, companies that
make sports equipment and trophies for teams, and military recruiters.
However, once these companies have the child's information, there is
nothing stopping them from turning around and selling this information
to marketing firms or other companies, who then utilize direct
mailers, emails, and possibly calls to try and tempt the children to
buy their product. Besides the issue of invasion of privacy that a
child faces when their information is released publicly, there is also
the fear that this information could fall into the hands of dangerous
individuals. To illustrate this point more clearly, from 2003-2007
(most recent statistics available), the homicide rate for high school
aged students rose from 4.3 to 6.1 individuals per 100,000 (3). While
it is true that not all of these murders had to do with information
being released into the wrong hands, it does signify the importance of
keeping children safe at all costs.

As of now, the only way for a parent (or student if they are over the
age of 18) to block the release of their information is for them to
express in written form their desire not to have this information
released. This is what is meant when it is said that FERPA has an
opt-out provision. However, there are no specific guidelines that
indicate how this provision should be handled, and is instead left up
to each individual school district. Hence, there is no continuity
between districts, with potentially one passing out a form in the
beginning of the year, another at the end of the year, and a third
keeping the forms on hand at the school in case a parent asks for one.
Additionally, as all parents of school aged children know, there is
the distinct possibility that a form that is put into a child's
backpack will never make it home and into the parents hands.  Lastly,
because schools do not have to alert parents when they are releasing
the contact information of their child, parents may not know when it
is appropriate to return the opt-out form.

Also, in 2008 (again, most recent statistics available) there were 10
million cases of identity theft in the United States (1). Of these 10
million people, 66% of victims' personal information is used to open a
new credit account in their name (2). While these numbers do not
specifically reflect children, what they do show is that identity
theft is a problem in our society, and one that will continue to grow
as more and more information becomes accessible to the general public.

All of the reasons written about above explain why this bill is
necessary. By stating that a school district cannot release a
student's personal contact information without receiving express
written permission from the parents beforehand, saying that it is ok
to do so, this bill is limiting what school districts can release
without a families knowledge. However, by not outlawing the release of
all student directory information, this bill does not overstep the
states boundaries and overturn an existing federal law. Lastly, this
bill does not interfere with the transferring of a student's
information between school districts when a student moves of is
transferred for other reasons. In the end, all it does is seek to
strengthen an existing federal statute by outlawing the release of a
student's personal contact information unless the family of that
student explicitly states in writing that they permit the release of
this information

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new piece of legislation.
 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.