Law Protects Schools' Online Privacy

School kids can feel safe from pesky Internet marketers, now that President George Bush has signed the sweeping education reform bill into law.

A clause in the bill, signed January 8, will strengthen the children's Internet privacy laws in public schools. That means companies can no longer swap IT equipment, Internet access, and other perks for information about a student's surfing and buying habits. Until now, businesses have been able to collect personal data about children and their families, often without parents' knowledge. Under the new law, parents will have the opportunity to protect their kids from this kind of marketing research.

Many cash-strapped school districts have allowed companies to pay for students' personal information, then use it to market products to them, says Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT). "Parents send their children to school to learn, not to be used as captive focus groups for marketers," Dodd says. "Schools should not act as a back door to skirt parental control."

Senators Dodd and Richard Shelby (R-AL) originally introduced the privacy language in 2000 as a single piece of legislation called the Student Privacy Protection Act. The privacy language was attached to the education reform bill as a way to ensure that it would sail through Congress and be signed into law by the President.