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CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A proposed bill to protect the privacy of students' social media accounts would mandate that Wyoming Department of Education officials draft a statewide data privacy policy.
From Facebook to Instagram, Senate File 14 would prohibit teachers and school officials from requiring students to provide access to personal accounts. The bill includes a $1,000 fine for a first time violation of student data privacy, and a $2,500 fine for subsequent offenses.
Accounts created in school would be precluded from the privacy protections. Officials would still be allowed to access a student's public account, and the bill would not inhibit law enforcement investigations related to information on students' online accounts.
Wyoming is one of many states grappling with student data privacy, said Ken Decaria, government relations director for the Wyoming Education Association.
The proposed bill addresses privacy in social media as well as how the state protects other private data collected about students, said Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie and a member of the Joint Education Committee. Rothfuss was also chairman of the Task Force on Digital Information Privacy that met last year.
While some states drafted bills specific to Facebook or Twitter, Wyoming lawmakers used broad language to encapsulate the changing trends of social media, Rothfuss told the Casper Star-Tribune (http://bit.ly/1ZiSEZr ).
The bill includes a mandate for the Superintendent of Public Instruction to create a response to breaches of privacy, and protocol for collecting, storing and protecting student data. School districts may use the state protocol as a guide. The proposed measure also prohibits the department from sharing or selling student data.
State guidance on the issue of student privacy will be essential for small districts that lack the resources and expertise to draft their own plans, Rothfuss said.
The Department of Education already has a policy on data privacy, built partly on its own initiative. Legislators mandated a data security report form the education agency in 2014, and the department has updated it every year, said Kari Eakins, spokeswoman for the agency.
But school districts, especially smaller ones, testified before the Digital Task Force that state guidance wasn't reaching them, Rothfuss said.
The bill will not likely change anything for teachers, Decaria said. In instances where something criminal is suspected, the police protocol will take charge.
"It doesn't mean that there is no way to access that information, it just makes sure you go through the proper channels," Decaria said.
The legislative session begins Feb. 8 in Cheyenne.
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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com
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