For starters a policy within the Santa Fe Public School District is akin to an ordinance or law.  That is, a policy is something to which the District and its staff will adhere.  Therefore, I take policy review/drafting very seriously.  Policies outlast people and long after I am gone, the policy will remain (unless revoked through official action).  Furthermore, protecting student data is among the most important areas of policy work that I can do within my role as a school board member.  I believe, with everything that I am, that the SFPS district should enact Student Data Privacy Policy sooner rather than later.

Last night, we had the opportunity to read a data privacy policy as the first part of its enactment.  However, in reading what was before me, I felt as though it needed more clarification.  Specifically, I think that if the District collects student “biometric” data, then the District should: 1) notify parents in plain English of this data collection; and, 2) provide parents with a mechanism to “opt in” to the data collection.  If the collected is used for a mandatory assessment, the District should also then provide those parents who do not “opt in” a similar assessment mechanism that does not collect biometric data.

The initial draft policy for review neither clearly defined “biometric data” nor did it did provide clear opt-in language for this data.  For those reasons, I felt that we needed to clarify some language and ensure its implementability.  Going forward, “biometric data” is data that is based off unique biological identifiers such as iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, or other biological markers that are unique and natively marked for student identification.  If however, special tools are needed to identify a student, such as third party facial recognition software, that data is outside the biometric data definition.

Recently, a colleague pointed out to me that there are three (3) things needed for strong law/policy: 1) Capital; 2) Policy; and, 3) Executability.  Really, anyone can draft a policy and have the money to implement it.  However, if there is a limit to its execution, then a policy/law is nothing more than a piece of paper with words.  I strongly support a Student Data Privacy policy, but it should be clear and implementable.  Because it was too broad, the initial version would have been difficult to implement.

We will get this policy correct and it will happen soon. It is my position that the District will clarify terms and bring a clear and implementable version to the Board very soon.  This process will not be one of months, but of weeks.  We are close and we will protect our students’ data with parental notification and consent very soon.  Please let me know of any questions.