This act prohibits tracking children under 13 without parental consent. This act protects the confidentiality of student records by prohibiting disclosure of personally identifiable information to outsiders without prior consent. Parents or legal guardians have the right to inspect their child's confidential files and challenge information found in the file. The burden of proof rests with school personnel to demonstrate that information is accurate. Failure to do so will result in deletion of the information in question and possible legal challenges.
Schools have a poor history of records management.
Schools often tell parents that they take record management and privacy seriously, but in practice, their efforts can be inadequate. In most schools, these information sources are maintained at the unsupervised discretion of the individual who requests it or manages the collection. Storage and cross-reference of these materials is rarely carried on and audited in accordance with state and federal records management guidelines, because schools have not traditionally been held accountable. Traditional information at risk includes addresses and telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, grade reports, evaluations, disciplinary notes and drug tests. Online information about student activities and interests, as well as those of their parents, are worth billions of dollars for targeted, commercial marketing and demographics studies, and also appeals to criminals.