Safeguarding Children’s Privacy in Schools Act

Safeguarding Children's Privacy in Schools Act

This bill revises the standards for parental consent with respect to the online collection, use, and disclosure of the personal information of a child.

First, it revises the definition of verifiable parental consent to require websites and online services to obtain consent by a parent before collecting a child's personal information. Currently, websites and online services must make a reasonable effort to ensure that a parent authorizes the collection, use, and disclosure of such personal information before collecting it.

The bill also prohibits elementary and secondary school employees from acting as the agent of a child enrolled in such school for the purpose of providing verifiable parental consent.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5630 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5630

   To amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to 
 provide that a school may not act as the agent of a parent of a child 
     for purposes of providing verifiable parental consent to the 
 collection, use, or disclosure of personal information of the child, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 19, 2021

   Mrs. Miller of Illinois (for herself, Mr. Good of Virginia, Mrs. 
 Boebert, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Babin, Mr. 
  Rosendale, Mr. Johnson of Louisiana, Mr. Owens, Mr. Bishop of North 
  Carolina, Mr. Steube, Mr. Budd, Ms. Foxx, Mr. Roy, Mr. Pfluger, Mr. 
 Allen, Mrs. Greene of Georgia, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Norman, Mr. Davidson, 
 and Mr. Donalds) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to 
 provide that a school may not act as the agent of a parent of a child 
     for purposes of providing verifiable parental consent to the 
 collection, use, or disclosure of personal information of the child, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Safeguarding Children's Privacy in 
Schools Act''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF PARENTS REGARDING PERSONAL INFORMATION 
              OF STUDENTS.

    The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 
6501 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 1302, by amending paragraph (9) to read as 
        follows:
            ``(9) Verifiable parental consent.--The term `verifiable 
        parental consent', with respect to the collection, use, and 
        disclosure (as applicable) by an operator of the personal 
        information of a child--
                    ``(A) means consent by a parent of the child to the 
                collection, use, and disclosure (and to any subsequent 
                use of the information) that is obtained by the 
                operator--
                            ``(i) before the information is collected 
                        from the child; and
                            ``(ii) after notice to the parent of the 
                        operator's personal information collection, 
                        use, and disclosure practices; and
                    ``(B) may include consent to future collection, 
                use, and disclosure described in the notice.''; and
            (2) in section 1303--
                    (A) in subsection (b)(2)(C)--
                            (i) in clause (i), by striking ``; or'' and 
                        inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) by striking clause (ii); and
                            (iii) by striking ``that request--'' and 
                        all that follows through ``if, before'' and 
                        inserting ``that request, if, before''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Prohibition on School or Local Educational Agency Acting as 
Agent of Parent.--
            ``(1) In general.--An elementary school, secondary school, 
        or local educational agency, or an employee or other agent of 
        such school or agency, may not act as the agent of a parent of 
        a child enrolled in such school (or in a school served by such 
        agency, as the case may be) for purposes of providing 
        verifiable parental consent under the regulations prescribed 
        under subsection (b), making any request under such 
        regulations, or receiving any notice or other information 
        required to be provided to a parent of the child under such 
        regulations.
            ``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms 
        `elementary school', `secondary school', and `local educational 
        agency' have the meanings given such terms in section 8101 of 
        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).''.
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