Digital Smarts - States Considering Doing More To Protect Student Data

More schools are adopting technology to help personalize learning. This trend means schools also are collecting more student data, which has raised concerns in some areas about the use of such tech, including the direct marketing of products to students and families. In the past two years, legislation to protect student data has been introduced in 46 states and passed in 15, according to the Data Quality Campaign, a nonprofit group that advocates the effective use of student data in education. But as schools collect and analyze a wealth of details about students – including the calculation of Body Mass Index (an indicator of obesity) - some parents are raising questions about the fair and appropriate use of their children’s data that goes much deeper than marketing issues. For example, parents in one school district last year objected when their children were sent home with letters indicating some were obese, especially when there was no personalized follow up, and the receipt of such a letter at school marked certain children for ridicule.