Commercial Activities in Schools: Use of Student Data is Limited and Additional Dissemination of Guidance Could Help Districts Develop Policies
Highlights
Congress has continuing interest in commercial activities in U.S. public schools. These include product sales, advertising, market research, and the commercial use of personal data about students (such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers) by schools. To update information about commercial activities in schools, Congress asked us to answer the following questions: (1) Since 2000, what statutes and regulations have states enacted and proposed to govern commercial activities in schools? (2) To what extent have districts developed policies implementing amended provisions of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) in the No Child Left Behind Act on the use of student data for commercial purposes? (3) What guidance has the Department of Education (Education) disseminated? To answer these questions, we researched state laws, surveyed a national sample of school districts, analyzed policies provided by districts, interviewed officials at Education, and examined its guidance. In addition, we updated findings from the districts we visited in 2000.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Education | The Secretary of Education should take additional action to assist districts in understanding that they are required to have specific policies in place for the collection, disclosure, and use of student information for marketing and selling purposes by disseminating its guidance to state school boards associations. |
Closed – Implemented
The Department of Education has implemented this recommendation with various efforts. In September 2004, Education worked with the Arizona School Boards Association and several other state education associations to provide training on the use of student information for marketing or selling purposes. In November 2004, Education participated in a conference held by the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and the Council of School Attorneys to discuss policies and notification requirements regarding commercial activities in schools. In addition, the Secretary disseminated policy requirements related to marketing and selling to all NSBA state affiliates and included this information in NSBA's Legal Clips service.
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