Protection of personally identifiable information

Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

494A.

Prohibition on use of personally identifiable information for immigration enforcement purposes

(a)

In general

Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in subsection (b), no Federal student aid information may be— (1)shared with or used by the Department of Homeland Security, any other Federal agency that has immigration enforcement authority, or a State or local agency that has in effect an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357) for the purposes of immigration enforcement; or (2)treated as information subject to disclosure under section 642 of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997 (8 U.S.C. 1373). (b)

Exception

The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not apply to Federal student aid information— (1)required to be disclosed pursuant to a court order issued in connection with the commission of a Federal or State criminal offense alleged to have been committed by the student; or (2)subject to subsection (c), in a case in which the student or contributor individual has voluntarily and expressly consented to the disclosure of such information to an agency described in subsection (a)(1). (c)

Prohibition on coercion

The exception under subsection (b)(2) shall not apply in a case in which an agency described in subsection (a)(1)— (1)requested that a student or contributor individual consent to the disclosure of Federal student aid information; or (2)coerced or otherwise pressured a student or contributor individual to consent to such disclosure. (d)

Reporting to Congress

In the event the Secretary discloses or learns of a disclosure of Federal student aid information in violation of this section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes the circumstances of such disclosure, the nature of the information disclosed, and any steps taken to remedy the disclosure. (e)

Relationship to other law

This section supercedes any contrary provision of Federal, State, or local law to the extent such law would authorize disclosure of Federal student aid information in violation of this section. (f)

Definitions

In this section: (1)

Contributor individual

The term contributor individual means any individual (including a spouse or parent of a student or borrower) whose financial information, including tax return information, is required to be provided on an application for any program, activity, or benefit under this title. (2)

Federal student aid information

The term Federal student aid information means any personally identifiable information (as that term is used in section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; commonly known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974)) about a student or other contributor individual that is submitted or used in connection with a determination of initial or continuing eligibility for any program, activity, or benefit under this title. (3)

Immigration enforcement

The term immigration enforcement means an apprehension, an arrest, an interview, a request for identification, a search, or surveillance for the purposes of enforcing the immigration laws. (4)

Immigration laws

The term immigration laws has the meaning given the term in section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17)).