FEDERAL CHANGESU.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced changes Thursday to the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, governing the privacy of student educational data and records.Duncan said new regulations will allow schools to uses “routine” information without getting prior consent, while preventing “misuse or abuse” of student information.”Data are a powerful tool needed to improve the state of education in this country,” Duncan said in a statement Thursday. “At the same time, the benefits of using student data must always be balanced with the need to protect students’ privacy rights and ensure their information is protected.”Officials said the changes should clarify FERPA rules and will help policy makers determine the effectiveness of state- and federally funded programs.
Tennessee scored above the national average and was lauded as a national leader for its availability and use of data to improve public education, a new report says.
In releasing its seventh annual state analysis Thursday, the Data Quality Campaign gave Tennessee a score of seven out of 10 for its use of student and teacher data. That’s markedly higher than the national average score of 4.6.
“From what we know of Tennessee, it’s definitely a leader in the nation,” said Paige Kowlaski, director of state policy initiatives for the Data Quality Campaign. “They’ve embraced data as part of their strategy.”
Later in the day, the U.S. Department of Education announced changes to the federal law regulating the use and disclosure of student data and records.