COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Senate Bill 29 is now in effect in Ohio, a new piece of legislation that restricts education records and student information.
The bill, which took effect Oct. 24, requires districts to significantly increase their communication with families regarding students’ technology use at school, and regulates what districts are allowed to monitor. The bill also redefines what information qualifies as public record, vastly limiting what can be shared by school districts.
Under SB 29, Ohio school districts are no longer permitted to access or monitor location tracking services, audio or visual features and student interactions like messages or web browsing on school-monitored devices. Districts are only able to monitor those if it is for safety reasons or educational purposes, but they can still block certain websites to prevent students from accessing them.
If districts decide monitoring is necessary in one of the newly regulated categories, they must notify the student’s parents or guardians within 72 hours with a written description of what happened and what was accessed.
“Everyone deserves the right to privacy and students are no different,” Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), the bill’s sponsor, said. “Our children need privacy to express themselves, and it should be left to the parents, not tech companies, to monitor our children’s online presence.”
Evan Debo, South-Western City School District’s executive director of communications and community relations, said the district is aware the influx of emails for parents and guardians is likely overwhelming, but the communications are required under SB 29.
Debo said the bill affects a number of everyday occurrences. The district must now notify families within 72 hours anytime a student shares a Google Doc assignment with their teacher for feedback, a teacher checks for plagiarism, or a teacher helps a student log into their Chromebook, among other things.
Under the bill, some technology previously used by teachers to communicate with students is now prohibited. Any platforms or technology used in districts must now also comply with Ohio’s new privacy rules, which many popular educational resources do not.
The Remind app, used by nearly 80% of public schools in the U.S., does not comply with SB 29 because it stores customer data outside the parameters of the bill and has some intellectual property rights that are out of compliance. Class Dojo, used by more than 50 million students and parents, has been suspended in Columbus City Schools for similar reasons.
Many records are no longer publicly available under SB 29, including records of people who have completed state-approved training to carry deadly weapons in school zones. Further, the Ohio Board of Education can now refuse, limit, suspend or revoke a license if its owner violates the new public record policies. If teachers, administrators or staff publish or provide access to student information – including names, photographs, grades, discipline or any personal information – they are now liable to lose their teaching license.
Under these restrictions, the bill is also affecting students’ communications. At Mount Vernon High School, the student newspaper announced via Facebook that it will cease publication indefinitely.
“We are sorry to report that due to Senate Bill 29, we will be shutting down our Jacket Journal Public Page account until we get clear guidance regarding what we can/cannot do to promote all the amazing things happening in our district,” the newspaper posted.
The Ohio Senate is scheduled to return from its several months out of session on Nov. 13, and the House is scheduled to return Nov. 20. Debo said once legislators return, districts may be able to work with them to adapt the new policy.
“While we certainly understand that the increased volume in 72-hour notifications may become overwhelming for parents and guardians in the short term, we have been told districts from across the state, and in partnership with legislators, are working to make amendments to lessen the frequency of such notifications once session resumes,” Debo said.
