WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today sought to affirm the importance of student data privacy by recognizing February 17, 2016 as Digital Learning Day.
Last night, Daines and Blumenthal successfully passed a bipartisan resolution recognizing February 17 as Digital Learning Day. The senators’ resolution, which passed by unanimous consent, highlights the many ways in which technology can enhance the classroom experience while striking the right balance in protecting the personal information of students.
“Everyday, students around the globe use technology to enhance the classroom learning experience,” Daines stated. “Digital Learning Day provides the opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of protecting our students’ personal information. In addition to supporting the many benefits of technology in our classrooms, we also need to have smart policies in place to ensure students’ information and electronic records are processed and stored safely and securely.”
“As classrooms across the country adopt new learning technology, parents and students deserve to know that their personal information will not be hawked for revenue or exposed to hackers,” Blumenthal stated. “Digital Learning Day celebrates the opportunities from, and advancements in, classroom technology, but it also serves as an important reminder of the pressing need to enact strong privacy protections for student data. I will fight for steps to build on this resolution and protect student data, including the SAFE KIDS Act I introduced with Senator Daines.”
Daines and Blumenthal are also the authors and sponsors of the SAFE KIDS Act that protects student privacy by establishing clear parameters for third-party operators when using data collected from students. The legislation empowers parents to control access to their children’s information.
The full text of the senators’ resolution is available HERE.
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