Effective July 1, 2016, the Student Data Privacy, Accessibility, and Transparency Act (O.C.G.A. §20-2-661 – 20-2-667) is the state law focused on student data privacy and security in Georgia. Student information is crucial to support educational practices, and it is critically important to ensure that student information is protected, safeguarded, kept private, and used only by authorized educational authorities to serve the best interests of the student.
The Student Data Privacy, Accessibility, and Transparency Act includes provisions for the following:
- the designation of a senior staff member of the Georgia Department of Education as the agency’s chief privacy officer, with the responsibility of establishing and maintaining agency policies and practices to ensure the protection of student data;
- restrictions on the reporting of student data pertaining to juvenile delinquency, criminal records, and medical or health records;
- restrictions on the collection of student political, economic, and religious data,
- prohibitions on certain uses of student data and data management requirements for operators of sites collecting student data (§20-2-666); and
- parents’ right to inspect and review student education records maintained by schools or districts (§20-2-667).