[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1908 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1908

           To protect students from commercial exploitation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 10, 1999

   Mr. Dodd introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
           To protect students from commercial exploitation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Student Privacy Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. PRIVACY FOR STUDENTS.

    Part E of title XIV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8891 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 14515. PRIVACY FOR STUDENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--None of the funds authorized under this Act may 
be used by an applicable program to allow a third party to monitor, 
receive, gather, or obtain information intended for commercial purposes 
from any student under 18 years of age without prior, written, informed 
consent of the parent of the student.
    ``(b) Intention of Third Party.--Before a school, local educational 
agency, or State, as the case may be, enters into a contract with a 
third party, the school, agency, or State shall inquire whether the 
third party intends to gather, collect, or store information on 
students, the nature of the information to be gathered, how the 
information will be used, whether the information will be sold, 
distributed, or transferred to other parties and the amount of class 
time, if any, that will be consumed by such activity.
    ``(c) Consent Form.--The consent form referred to in subsection (a) 
shall indicate the dollar amount and nature of the contract between a 
school, local educational agency, or State, as the case may be, and a 
third party, including the nature of the information to be gathered, 
how the information will be used, if the information will be sold, 
distributed, or transferred to other parties, and the amount of class 
time, if any, that will be consumed by such activity.''.

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.

    (a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study in accordance with subsection (b) regarding the 
prevalence and effect of commercialism in elementary and secondary 
education.
    (b) Contents.--The study shall--
            (1) document the nature, extent, demographics, and trends 
        of commercialism (commercial advertising, sponsorships of 
        programs and activities, exclusive agreements, incentive 
        programs, appropriation of space, sponsored educational 
        materials, electronic marketing, market research, and 
        privatization of management) in elementary and secondary 
        schools receiving funds under the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965;
            (2) consider the range of benefits and costs, educational, 
        public health, financial and social, of such commercial 
        arrangements in classrooms; and
            (3) consider how commercial arrangements in schools affect 
        student privacy, particularly in regards to new technologies 
        such as the Internet, including the type of information that is 
        collected on students, how it is used, and the manner in which 
        schools inform parents before information is collected.
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