Marketplace (8/5) reports on the current debate over student data, noting that educators are “grappling” with what data to collect, how to utilize it, and how to protect it. The article reports that student data “has never played a greater role in education, particularly as schools move to models of ‘personalized learning,’” but notes that this comes with concerns about privacy and marketing firms using such data. The piece notes that ED has issued guidance on student data responsibilities, and notes that Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have introduced legislation to protect student data.
Google Faces Lawsuit Alleging Student Data Abuses
Education Week (3/13, Herold) reports that Google is facing a lawsuit alleging that “the data-mining practices behind Google’s Gmail electronic-messaging service violate federal and state wiretap and privacy laws,” noting that the firm has “acknowledged scanning the contents of millions of email messages sent and received by student users of the company’s Apps for Education tool suite for schools.” Noting that Gmail is an integral part of the Apps for Education portal, Education Week reports that plaintiffs allege that the firm “went further, crossing a ‘creepy line’ by using information gleaned from the scans to build ‘surreptitious’ profiles of Apps for Education users that could be used for such purposes as targeted advertising.” The piece notes that ED’s recent student privacy guidance “appears to deem the alleged practices of Google Apps for Education as violating FERPA.”