[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1934]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     STUDENT PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 22, 1999

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, as kids get settled in 
to school this year, I want to make sure that they and their parents 
are aware of a disturbing trend taking place on campuses across the 
country.
  Companies are increasingly entering the classroom to acquire hard-to-
get information about the purchasing preferences and personal habits of 
young people. They are doing this because kids aged 4 through 12 are 
the hottest market group being targeted by retailers and others.
  The problem is, kids do not always know if they are divulging 
personal information, and parents may not know that their children are 
spending part of their school day teaching companies how best to target 
young people.
  That is why I am introducing legislation today that will protect 
student privacy and parents' rights to information about their 
children's education.
  The legislation would prohibit schools from letting students 
participate in various forms of market research at school without their 
parent's written permission. My bill also would require a broad study 
of commercial involvement in the classroom.
  I am proud to have the support of Consumers Union and the National 
Parent Teacher Association in this effort. The PTA has been a leader in 
supporting efforts to improve educational quality and Consumers Union 
has been a champion of consumer' privacy.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important 
legislation.
  Normally, we do not think of privacy and educational quality as 
issues that overlap. But the fact that both these groups are here today 
illustrates how market research in schools touches upon a range of 
issues that concern diverse groups.
  As you know, there is a growing concern over privacy in this country, 
where Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that the 
benefits of new technology can also lead to a loss of control over 
personal, medical and financial information.
  I hear about this concern all the time. I support efforts by my 
colleagues to restore the privacy protections most of us have taken for 
granted.
  Another major concern that nearly everyone in California and the 
Nation is talking about is the quality of our young children's 
education. For good reason, most Americans believe that our schools are 
not doing enough to prepare kids for the difficult challenges that lie 
ahead.
  Educational quality and privacy concerns come together when private 
companies seek out the hotly contested youth market. Kids aged 4 to 12 
directly spent more than $24 billion and influenced their parents to 
spend $187 billion in 1997, according to a Texas A&M study.
  The classroom is fast becoming a preferred site to learn about 
student purchasing preferences because, ``That's where the kids are,'' 
says Alex Molnar, director of the Center for Analysis of Commercialism 
in Education at the University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
  According to the promotional literature for ZapMe! Corporation, a 
company that offers free computers to schools, ``Children in grades K-
12 are arguably the toughest audience for marketers to reach and quite 
possibly the most valuable . . . Pinpoint targeting of such an elusive 
audience is made possible via the most revolutionary educational medium 
in the world, the ZapMe! Knowledge Network.'' James Twitchell, author 
of ADCULT USA, for advertisers, said that when it comes to kids in 
schools, ``It doesn't get any better. These people have not bought 
cars. They have not chosen the kind of toothpaste they will use. This 
audience is Valhalla. It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.''
  Students should go to school to learn, not to provide companies an 
edge in a hot market. But increasing numbers of companies are targeting 
schools as the best place to learn the purchasing preferences of young 
people. Unfortunately, they can do this today without the permission of 
parents, and sometimes without the knowledge of the students 
themselves.

  Parents have a right to know how their children are spending their 
days at school. If parents do not want their children to be objects of 
market research firms while in school, they should have the right to 
say no. My bill gives parents that right.
  By requiring parental consent for a student to contribute to any 
market research in school, students and parents will be able to retain 
more control over how the school day is spent and will be able to make 
an informed decision as to whether to reveal personal information that 
private companies otherwise might not be able to obtain.
  Existing school privacy laws only protect official records and 
research funded by the Federal Department of Education. Current law 
leaves a loophole for companies to go into classrooms to get 
information directly from kids without parental consent. This 
information is then sold to advertisers and marketers, who use it to 
target students.
  Consider these examples of the growing trend of using the classroom 
to solicit personal information from kids for market research:
  Kids in a New Jersey elementary school filled out a 27-page booklet 
called ``My All About Me Journal'' as part of a marketing survey for a 
cable television channel.
  Elementary school students in Kansas answered marketing questions 
over the school computer.
  Students in a Massachusetts elementary school spent two days tasting 
cereal and answering an opinion poll.
  The ZapMe! Corporation provides schools with free computers but then 
monitors students' web browsing habits, breaking the data down by age, 
sex and ZIP code.
  Students in Honolulu schools divulge extensive buying habit 
information to the private company that runs its SmartCard system. The 
cards are used as student IDs as well as a means to purchase school 
supplies, concession stand items and school lunches. Promotional 
arrangements are also linked to the card.
  It is clear that companies have a powerful incentive to go into class 
to solicit information from kids. My legislation will ensure that 
parents retain the ultimate authority to determine if they want their 
kids to participate in this type of activity at school and thereby help 
protect the parent-child relationship.
  By raising the issue of commercialism in the classroom, my goal is 
not to usurp local decision-making by schools, but rather to protect 
parents and students and encourage an informed discussion of all of the 
costs and benefits of these arrangements.

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