School Data Committee Introduces Legislation

The Legislative Council Study Committee on School Data formally introduced their two draft bills today, Assembly Bill 71 and Assembly Bill 72.

AB 71: Requires the State Superintendent to create, maintain, and post a student data inventory list on the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) website.  The list must include every

distinct type of student data collected by DPI, a definition of the type of data collected, the purpose for collecting the data, and the state or federal law requiring collection of the data.  The list must also be updated each time DPI makes changes to the type of student data they collect.

AB 72: Requires the State Superintendent to provide guidance and training to school districts on how to comply with state and federal privacy or security laws, including the federal Family  Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The State Superintendent must also work with the Department of Administration to develop a data privacy and security plan for DPI and a model data privacy and security plan that could be used by school districts. The data privacy and security plans must include: guidelines for access to pupil data and to the student information system; procedures for data privacy and security audits; procedures to ensure that incidents involving the unauthorized disclosure of student data are reported to relevant stakeholders, investigated, and mitigated, as appropriate; data security training protocols and policies; data retention and disposition policies; and a process for evaluating and updating the data privacy and security plan on at least an annual basis. AB 72 requires the state superintendent to consult with stakeholders about the quality, usefulness, openness, privacy, and security of student data.

Both bills have been referred to the Assembly Committee on Education.