What's happening
This bill creates the Student Privacy Protection Act, setting limits and procedures for schools on disclosing student information.
Why it matters
Strengthens parental and student control over information. The bill mandates that schools must provide notice and allow parents or eligible students to opt out before releasing directory information, giving families more direct say in what details are shared.
Narrowly limits what can be disclosed and to whom. Only a specific set of “disclosable directory information” (like name, age, awards, or sports participation) can be shared, and only under certain circumstances such as for yearbooks or school newspapers, reducing the risk of over-sharing.
Bans commercial use of student data. Even with consent, schools are explicitly barred from sharing personally identifiable student information for any profit-driven purposes (like marketing, selling lists, or creating consumer profiles), aiming to prevent student data from becoming a commodity.
Requires transparency and accountability. Schools must provide clear annual notices about their data-sharing policies, the types of information they expect to disclose, and detailed steps for families to block or authorize disclosures, increasing transparency and public awareness of student privacy rights.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Student Data Privacy
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Student Privacy Rights
In Assembly Committee · Education · Sponsor Linda Rosenthal
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6690
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
September 6, 2019
Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the student privacy protection act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 2-A to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2-A
STUDENT PRIVACY PROTECTION Section 20. Short title.
21. Definitions.
22. Limits on disclosure of student information.
23. Notice.
§ 20. Short title. This article shall be known as and may be cited as the "student privacy protection act".
§ 21. Definitions. For purposes of this article:
1. "School" means any public school, any non-public school, and any school of higher education.
2. "Student", "directory information", "eligible student", and "personally identifiable information" shall have the same meanings as such terms are defined in 34 CFR 99.
3. "Disclosable directory information" means with respect to a student, the student's name; photograph; age; major field of study; grade level; enrollment status; dates of attendance; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; weight and height of members of athletic teams; degrees, honors, and awards received; and the most recent educational agency or institution attended.
§ 22. Limits on disclosure of student information. 1. A school may disclose directory information about a student only:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13113-02-9
S. 6690 2
(a) after giving the parent of the student or the eligible student at the school notice and an opportunity to opt-out of the disclosure pursuant to section twenty-three of this article;
(b) if the disclosure does not include any personally identifiable student information other than disclosable directory information; and
(c) if the disclosure is to a school newspaper, local newspaper, school club or organization, school yearbook, honor roll or other recognition list, graduation program, sports related publication which provides specific information about particular students for the purposes of a specific sports activity or function, or parent and teacher organization.
2. A school may disclose personally identifiable student information with the affirmative consent of the parent of the student or the eligible student in accordance with the procedure described in section twenty-three of this article if the disclosure is to a non-profit organization:
(a) that states in writing that it seeks the information for a specified purpose determined by the school to be in the educational interest of the student;
(b) that states in writing that it will use the information only for the specific identified purpose and will return or destroy the information when the purpose has been fulfilled, but not later than one year after receipt;
(c) that states in writing that it has not used or disclosed personally identifiable student information from any school in a manner inconsistent with the terms of disclosure within the past five years; and
(d) if the school has no reason to believe that the recipient used or disclosed personally identifiable student information from any school in a manner inconsistent with the terms of the disclosure within the past five years.
3. Unless otherwise expressly allowed by law, a school shall not disclose personally identifiable student information about a student, even with the affirmative consent of the parent of the student or the eligible student, for any commercial, for-profit activity, including, but not limited to use for:
(a) marketing products or services;
(b) selling or renting personally identifiable student information for use in marketing products or services;
(c) creating, correcting, or updating an individual or household profile;
(d) compilation of a list of students; or
(e) any other purpose considered by the school as likely to be a commercial, for-profit activity.
4. In making an allowable disclosure under subdivision one or two of this section, a school shall only disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purpose of such disclosure.
§ 23. Notice. 1. Within the first week of each school year, each school shall issue a public notice, included in a student or parent handbook and provided to each student in a form that the student can retain or give to a parent, containing information describing the school's disclosure procedures for personally identifiable student information.
2. The information required pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall include:
S. 6690 3
(a) a description of any personally identifiable student information that the school expects to disclose during the school year;
(b) the procedure that a parent of a student or an eligible student can follow to prohibit the school from disseminating disclosable directory information pursuant to section twenty-two of this article; and
(c) the procedure that a parent of a student or an eligible student can follow to authorize the school to disseminate personally identifiable student information pursuant to section twenty-two of this article.
3. If the school does not receive an objection from the parent of a student or the eligible student within thirty days of the dissemination of the information required to be provided under subdivision two of this section, the school may disseminate disclosable directory information relating to the student pursuant to section twenty-two of this article.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the student privacy protection act
Purpose of bill
To expand privacy protections for students in regard to the dissem- ination of personally identifiable information.
Summary of provisions
The bill adds a new Article 2-A to education law to establish the Student Privacy Protection Act to expand privacy protections for students in public and non-public schools and higher education insti- tutions by defining disclosable directory information and providing an opportunity for parents or eligible students to opt-out of such disclo- sure. Under this legislation, disclosable directory information is defined as: the student's name; photograph; age; major field of studies; grade level; enrollment status; dates of attendance; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; weight and height of members of athletic teams; degrees, honors and awards received; and the most recent educational agency or institution attended.
Additionally, the legislation would require affirmative consent by parents or eligible students for schools to disclose their personally identifiable information to a non-profit organization and only under specific criteria including: if such information is for a specified purpose in the educational interest of the student; the students infor- mation will be returned or destroyed in one year; and, the organization has not disclosed personally identifiable information in a manner incon- sistent with disclosure requirements for five years.
The bill further prohibits personally identifiable student information from being disclosed for any commercial, for-profit activity including marketing products or services, selling or renting personally identifi- able student information for marketing products or services, using such student information to create, correct or update an individual or house- hold profile, or for any other commercial, for-profit purpose.
Schools would have to provide notices annually to parents and eligible students about their rights and disclosure procedures regarding personally identifiable information.
Justification
While New York State and the federal government have adopted measures to address student privacy protections in the dissemination of student information there remain identifying elements in the information that may be disclosed including student contact information, date of birth and place of birth. These identifiable individual factors should be kept as confidential as possible to protect students from unwanted and possi- bly dangerous communication and contact. This measure is designed to enhance safeguards for students by defining student information that may be disclosed, by limiting the purpose for such disclosure and by provid- ing parents and eligible students the opportunity to further protect themselves.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None.
Effective date
July 1st next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.