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Learning Curve

Some surprising facts about states and student data

Dan Abendschein Sep 18, 2014

Open wide: Alaska collects data on students’ oral health, including how many teeth they have. 

Stop picking on me: Many states collect data on students who are disciplined for bullying, but Florida also tracks students who have been victims of bullying and the reasons why (ie., sexual orientation, religion)

Destined to drop out: In Texas, kids can be tagged as “at-risk” of dropping out of school as early as the pre-kindergarten level, based on their performance on a school readiness test.

Don’t ask: School districts in South Dakota, Idaho, West Virginia and Louisiana are forbidden from collecting data on whether a family owns a gun, under new data laws passed this year.

No window to the soul: In many states, school districts are also now barred from collecting biometric data like eye scans and palm prints.

Jail time for bureaucrats: In Louisiana, anyone who knowingly allows a data breach can be imprisoned for up to three years.

Fat chance: In New Hampshire, the state can no longer track the body mass index (BMI) of students under a new law passed this year. Nor can it use surveillance software on school laptops to track activity.

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