New York State Education Department Appoints First Privacy Officer To Secure Student Data
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
New role emphasizes the challenges of protecting confidential student information.
The New York State Education Department has appointed its first Privacy Officer charged with the task of protecting confidential student information. Temitope Akinyemi has been chosen for the role by State Education Department Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, according to Staten Island Advance.
Formerly, Akinyemi was a privacy officer and attorney from the state’s Office of Information Technology Services. In her new role, Akinyemi will be tasked with creating policies and procedures to safeguard the confidential data of students, parents, and educators as well as implementing and overseeing their statewide adoption.
Earlier this year, California passed a law limiting the use of student data for advertising purposes, as Business Solutions Magazine reported. The legislation highlights the dangers of making student data available, and underscores the importance of protecting confidential information in education. Currently, more than 20 states have some sort of student data privacy law on the books.
President Obama also called for legislation covering student privacy last year. The Student Data Privacy Act would prohibit technology firms from profiting from information collected in schools via technology tools like tablets, internet-connected software, or online services.
President Obama said, “If we’re going to be connected, then we need to be protected. As Americans, we shouldn’t have to forfeit our basic privacy when we go online to do our business. Each of us as individuals have a sphere of privacy around us that should not be breached, whether by our government, but also by commercial interests.”
New York State is serious about protecting information. Elia said, “It is imperative that confidential data shared by parents, educators, and students is kept just that — confidential.” And Board of Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa agreed, stating, “It is of the utmost importance that parents know that their child’s information is safe.”
“Now that the CPO is appointed, Ms. Akinyemi should immediately begin to reach out to parents through public hearings to gain their input so that their children's privacy and safety can be secured,” said Leonie Haimson, co-chair of the national Parent Coalition for Student Privacy and executive director of the nonprofit Class Size Matters. “Parents have already waited too long for this to occur.”
Georgia is another state that has responded to demands for tighter data security in its schools. Lawmakers in Georgia passed the Student Data, Privacy, Accessibility and Transparency Act in 2015 to safeguard confidential information, and the State Department of Education added the chief privacy officer role to the position of technology management director, currently held by Levette Williams, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.