What It’s Like Navigating the Strictest Student Privacy Law in the Country

We often hear how important it is to protect the privacy of student data. But the consequences can seem pretty abstract. When kids and adults alike are downloading a new app, or creating an online account, they tend to click “I agree” and “Allow” without a second thought. After all, they ask themselves, what’s the worst that could happen? In Louisiana, educators don’t have that luxury. According to a student data privacy law passed there a few years ago, anyone who collects or shares students’ personally identifiable information (or PII, as the shorthand goes) can be punished by up to six months in prison or $10,000 in fines. That certainly raised the stakes on an issue that, until then, many people hadn’t been taking very seriously. But it also led to an environment where educators, schools and districts became so afraid of breaking the law that they curtailed their collection and use of all kinds of data, from batting averages and touchdown stats at school sporting events to Students of the Month and Honor Rolls hanging in the hallways.