According to the bill, the student-level data the federal government collects will include “student-related surveys,” race or ethnicity, age, sex, attendance, program of study, military or veteran benefit status, enrollment and credential status, distance education enrollment status, and federal Pell Grant status. Wait, that’s not all. “[A]dditional data” will be collected and tracked, including but not limited to, economic status, participation in remedial coursework, status as a parent of dependent children, incarceration or confinement status, disability status, and “other” undefined data to be collected as the government later deems necessary.
The CTA was snuck in via a last-minute
amendment to the
America Competes Act. It moved quickly out of the House on Feb 4, 2022, without a legislative hearing,
with only 12 minutes total discussion, and passed by
roll call vote. The federal student data system embedded in this bill is only one conference committee away from President Biden signing it into law. That committee is expected to consider this bill soon.
Notably, biometric data, personality data, and behavioral data collection such as facial expression, threat and risk scores, predictive analytics, and social-emotional data are not prohibited in this bill. The CTA also has language that
specifically allows third parties to sell student data (page 58): “nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit third-party entities from using publicly-available information in this data system for commercial purposes.”
The information in this proposed student data system must also be matched and shared with the U.S. Department of Defense, the Social Security Administration, the Census Bureau, the Office of Federal Student Aid (even if the student did not apply for aid), the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Thanks to loopholes and exceptions in the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), these federal agencies can then further disclose student data with other approved agencies and businesses as allowed by law.
They don’t call this “surveillance” in the bill; they call it “transparency.”