Senator Carlucci Stands WITH Pta Leaders to Protect Student Privacy

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Mike Grubiak 845-623-3627

“Parents have the right to determine what happens to their child’s data.”

NYACK-- Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Westchester) will join PTA members from around The Hudson Valley and the New York State Teachers Union to support a piece of legislation that will help protect student data from third party vendors such as inBloom.

The shared data includes children's personal information such as their name, address, test scores, disciplinary and attendance records, race, ethnicity, disabilities, and other highly sensitive information.

Right now parents have no authority over their child’s data and it is unclear exactly how inBloom will be using this sensitive information.

The bill S5932 will give power back to parents and guardians and will allow them to provide consent to allow data sharing with a third party vendor like InBloom. The bill will also mirror federal regulations already on the books through FERPA (Family Education Rights & Privacy Act) to define what can be considered as student data.

If data is misused civil penalties in the bill go as high as $10,000 for repeated offenses.

Senator David Carlucci said, “Right now parents across New York State have no authority over to their child’s private information. That’s why I am sponsoring this bill to give parents greater control over their child's data. I plan on pushing this legislation in the upcoming legislative session to make sure parents have the right to determine what happens to their child’s data. ”

President of Nyack Teachers Association Donna Ramundo said, "Creating a safe learning environment and protecting our students needs to be made a priority especially while handling private sensitive information. I applaud Senator Carlucci and his Assembly colleagues for bringing this issue to the forefront of this years legislative session and providing a solution for parents while sending a message to companies who misuse our students data through civil penalties."

Laura Harste of the Fleetwood PTA said, “In these days where there is increasingly frequent discussion in regards to the sanctity of individual privacy, it is comforting to know that people like Senator Carlucci are looking out for the rights of our children and youth. As a parent I see it as not only my right, but my responsibility to protect my children from everything that may harm them. Senator Carlucci clearly agrees, by supporting these Bills, that the privacy of his constituents is more important than the desire of others to profit from such intrusions into our personal information.

Lisa Rudley, Ossining PTA Council and Co-Founder of NYS Allies for Public Education said, “We thank Senator Carlucci as we share his serious concerns with student data profiling and sharing of confidential information in a single statewide database. Student records are sacrosanct and parental rights must not be ignored or trampled on by anyone.”

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