On Tuesday, March 22 at 10:00 a.m., the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), will hold a hearing entitled, “Strengthening Education Research and Privacy Protections to Better Serve Students." The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
At the hearing, members will discuss the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). ESRA, which is currently due for reauthorization, established the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to conduct, coordinate, and distribute federal education research. In 2013, a Government Accountability Office report found several weaknesses in the law, including delays in issuing key findings to education officials and improper evaluations of the programs under IES, all of which could lead to unnecessary redundancy and costs. FERPA is the federal law that protects the privacy of student education records by specifying how these records may be shared on a limited basis for education purposes. However, as new and innovative technology is being implemented in today’s classrooms, updates to FERPA’s privacy protections have lagged behind, raising concerns about the safety and security of student data.
The hearing will provide members with an opportunity to learn how education research is used, how states can protect student privacy while conducting education research, and what improvements can be made to update these federal student privacy and education research laws.
For more information about the hearing scheduled for this week, visit republicans-edlabor.house.gov. WITNESS LIST
Mr. Robert Swiggum
Deputy Superintendent of Technology Services
Georgia Department of Education
Atlanta, GA
Ms. Rachael Stickland
Co-Founder, Co-Chair
Parent Coalition for Student Privacy
Littleton, CO
Mr. Neil Campbell
Director of Next Generation Reforms
Foundation for Excellence in Education
Washington, DC
Dr. Jane Hannaway
Professor, McCourt School
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
