Welcome back! News on our new WBAI radio show and please urge NY State Ed Dept not to allow the selling or marketing of student data!

Sept.6, 2019

Welcome back to a new school year! I hope you had a great summer.

1.I have exciting news to report: I will be co-hosting a new weekly radio show on WBAI, called Talk out of School, with Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education. Our first show will be aired on Wednesday, Sept. 11 from 10 AM to 11 AM, with guests to be announced soon. On every show, we will explore the most pressing issues that face our public schools whether at the city, state or national levels. We also hope people will call in with their questions or concerns. Please join us this Wednesday at 99.5 FM or online at wbai.org. Call in number: (212) 209-2877. If you are unavailable at that time, never fear! Our show will also be available as a podcast.

2.We have some disturbing developments to report on student privacy. After waiting for nearly five years for the NY State Education Department to issue regulations and implement the student privacy law passed by the Legislature in 2014, they released proposed regulations in July that would drastically weaken the law by allowing schools and vendors to use personal student data for marketing purposes. This was done in response to aggressive lobbying by the College Board and ACT, both of which make millions of dollars from selling data they deceptively collect from students in surveys given before the exams. For more on this issue, read my blog post today.

Please voice your opposition to this practice, by clicking here, to send a strong message to NYSED and the Regents that this should NOT be allowed. The deadline for public comment is Sept. 16.

3. Another disappointing development occurred in the area of student privacy when NYC schools chancellor Richard Carranza said he would make parents opt out if they don’t want their contact information shared with charter schools for recruitment purposes, rather than require prior parental consent or cease this practice altogether. Check the blog for how this decision is neither best practice from a privacy or a policy point of view. You can remove your family from these lists by clicking here.

4.New data showing high levels of lead in many schools, both in paint and drinking water, are discussed on our blog, as well as my comments on the proposal to eliminate gifted classes from elementary schools. My new research associate, Emily Carrazana, has posted an analysis of changes over time in the school survey, which may help explain why class size reduction fell from the top position to number two in 2015 when parents were asked about their top priorities for their schools.

But please do send a message today to the State Education Department if you want your child’s personal data protected from being sold or commercialized – and if you believe that the state student privacy law should be strictly enforced rather than undermined.

Talk to you soon, Leonie