BY SABRINA VICTOR
Senate Bill 878 was introduced this year by Republican Senator Galvano with the intent of being passed and put into effect by July 1, 2013. It managed to pass last week through the Senate Appropriations Committee, but the problem with this bill is that it infringes upon student privacy in order for the government to make money. The passage of this bill allows the selling of K-20 data and personal information to organizations and representatives for unspecified purposes. This information includes children’s names, home addresses, emails, cell phones, their parent’s info, and data such as FCAT scores. This includes the same information that parents have always told their children to not give to strangers, yet that is exactly what the Florida government has planned to do.
By passing Senate Bill 878 the state is stealing our children’s privacy. Although these students are minors, their parents still deserve the final word over who sees their children’s personal information. As Americans we are granted our right to privacy and since Florida senators have passed this bill they are violating this right and risking the chance of student information getting into the wrong hands.
In 1974 FERPA, the Federal Family Educational Rights Privacy Act was enacted in order to protect the privacy of education records and directory information. Since schools are capable of providing a lot of information for third parties, we must continue to protect students’ rights under FERPA and raise awareness of bills such as these that compromise the privacy of students and their families. Through this bill, the databases being sold can easily be hacked and used for malicious purposes such as identity theft or buyer fraud. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Database, Florida has the highest percentage of identity theft for all of the United States. In Miami alone, 324.1 per 100,000 people have filed complaints about fraud or identity theft. Accidents such as these can later have an affect at a child’s seat at a university and their future or can even pose a real life danger. Since it’s clear that Floridians already have a problem with identity theft, the passage of this bill can possibly just create a catalyst to worsen this issue.
Florida Senators should be ashamed they passed this bill that can greatly affect student privacies and futures just for monetary gains. It is imperative that we fight against this bill in order to prevent our children’s safety and privacy from being on the line.
