There has been serious concern, as of late, regarding the collection and sharing of personal student data. As a result HB 1076, co-authored by St. Tammany Parish’s Senator A.G. Crowe, addressed these issues. HB 1076 was signed by Governor Bobby Jindal on June 23, 2014 and will become effective on August 1, 2014 as La. R.S. 17:3913 and 3996(B)(34). As a part of the legislation the legislature declared that “all personally identifiable information is protected as a right to privacy under the Constitution of Louisiana and the Constitution of the United States.” This legislation provides that beginning June 1, 2015, no official or employee of a city, parish, or other local public school system can provide personally identifiable student information to any person, with certain exceptions. In addition, beginning May 1, 2015, a new system of unique student identification numbers will be developed and a unique student identification number will be assigned to every student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school. Finally, this new legislation enumerates who is permitted to access to the public school computer system on which student information is stored. You can find the entirety of this bill, including the exceptions mentioned above at: http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=916157
