Yesterday, Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) reintroduced the Protecting Education Privacy Act.

“With an ever-changing data security and privacy landscape, now is the time to ensure our students are protected. My legislation will empower parents by giving them more control over their child’s information while strengthening federal student privacy standards,” said Congressman Luetkemeyer. “It is in the best interest of our students to guarantee information such as test scores, attendance records, social security numbers, and sensitive health information stays private. If that information is to be shared, parents and students, not third-party vendors, should make that determination.”

The Protecting Education Privacy Act is supported by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). “We support the legislation that Rep. Luetkemeyer introduced that will help ensure students’ private information will not be inappropriately disclosed to third parties,” stated Michael Reilly, Executive Director of AACRAO.

Background: The Protecting Education Privacy Act will reestablish many of the protections maintained in the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for nearly 40 years. It would ensure any entity designated as an “Authorized Representative” of an education agency with access to student records must be under the direct control of the agency. It would also create a prohibition on the use of student’s personally identifiable information for commercial purposes. This bill will safeguard an individual’s student records as it was originally intended instead of continuing open access to our student’s information.

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