Student Privacy Protection Act

Student Privacy Protection Act

Amends the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) to prohibit funding of educational agencies or institutions that allow third parties to access student data, unless:

• the agency or institution, prior to receiving parental consent, notifies parents of the data that would be accessed, that the data will be made available to the third party only if the parent consents, that the parent has the ability to access and correct inaccurate data, and that the agency or institution and the outside party are liable for violations;
• the agency or institution can ensure that the data cannot be used to determine the student's identity;
• the student data remains the property of the agency or institution and is destroyed when the individual is no longer served by the agency or institution; and
• the third party agrees to be liable for FERPA violations.

Extends FERPA rights to parents of any students for whom the agency or institution maintains student data, including home-schooled students who do not attend such agency or institution.

Removes an exception that allows educational agencies or institutions to permit the release of student educational records without parental consent to organizations studying predictive tests, student aid programs, and instruction.

Requires parental consent before authorized representatives under the direct control of the Comptroller General, the Department of Education (ED), or state educational authorities may access records for: (1) audits and evaluations of federally supported education programs administered by state or local public education agencies or institutions, or (2) enforcement of federal legal requirements.

Prohibits ED or fund-receiving educational agencies or institutions from appending student data with personally identifiable information obtained from federal or state agencies through data matches.

Bars funds from being used to: (1) track a student's educational and career progression activities, or (2) obligate an elementary or secondary school student to involuntarily select a career or related job training.

Requires aggregation, anonymization, and de-identification of student data permitted to be released or collected under various exceptions.

Makes federal agencies and fund-receiving educational agencies, institutions, and third parties that fail to comply with FERPA civilly liable for a monetary award to affected persons.

Prohibits psychological testing or predictive modeling of behaviors, beliefs, or value systems. Bars video monitoring or computer camera surveillance without a public hearing and consent of teachers and parents.

Prohibits surveys soliciting specified information about students or their families, including information on political affiliation, religious practices, or gun ownership.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov