Data misuse in the offing

Districts around the country are adopting web-based services that collect and analyze details about students without adequately safeguarding the information, reports Natasha Singer in The New York Times. New research from the Center on Law and Information Policy finds weaknesses in contracts that districts sign when outsourcing web-based tasks to service companies. Many contracts fail to list type of information collected, while others don't prohibit selling of personal details -- e.g. names, contact information, or health status -- or using that information for marketing purposes. Schools have adopted programs with the idea that digital, data-driven education will yield better test scores, grades, and graduation rates, and education technology software is an $8 billion market. But privacy specialists, industry executives, and district officials say federal education privacy rules and local policies have not kept pace with advances like apps that record a child's every keystroke or algorithms that classify academic performance. Without explicit prohibitions on nonacademic use of information, specialists warn that data could be shared with colleges or employers, to a student's detriment. The study urges that contracts specify services, list the types of information collected, and limit disclosure of student details. It also recommends that officials notify parents about the nature of information disclosed to third parties, and post privacy protections on district websites. 

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Source:  Public Education News Blast

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