2020 -- H 7509 | |
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LC004141 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO EDUCATION - PROTECTING STUDENT PRIVACY ON SCHOOL-OWNED | |
TECHNOLOGY | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Speakman, Ajello, Donovan, Kislak, and Ruggiero | |
Date Introduced: February 07, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended |
2 | by adding thereto the following chapter: |
3 | CHAPTER 110 |
4 | STUDENT PRIVACY IN TAKE-HOME TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS |
5 | 16-110-1. Definitions. |
6 | For the purposes of this chapter: |
7 | (1) "Device" means any computer, including laptop or tablet computers, or other |
8 | electronic device owned or maintained by the educational institution and provided to a student |
9 | pursuant to a take-home technology program. |
10 | (2) "Educational institution" or "school" means a private or public institution that offers |
11 | participants, students, or trainees an organized course of study or training that is academic, trade- |
12 | oriented or preparatory for gainful employment in a recognized occupation and shall include any |
13 | person acting as an agent of the institution. |
14 | (3) "Internet filtering measures" means the use of a specific technology or program to |
15 | block or filter access to websites on the Internet. |
16 | (4) "Location tracking" means a global positioning service or other mapping, locational, |
17 | or directional information service, used to determine the location of the device in real time or |
18 | historically. |
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1 | (5) "Remote access" means the ability to access a computer from a remote location, |
2 | including the ability to view a computer's network, desktop or files from an external location or |
3 | server, as well as the ability to open, modify, or delete programs or activate any visual or aural |
4 | recording or monitoring devices. |
5 | (6) "Take-home technology program" means any program wherein a device is provided |
6 | to a student for overnight or at-home use. |
7 | (7) "Student" means any student, participant, or trainee, whether full-time or part-time, in |
8 | an organized course of study at an educational institution. |
9 | 16-110-2. Optional participation in take-home technology programs. |
10 | (a) No educational institution shall compel, coerce, or require a student to participate in a |
11 | take-home technology program in the absence of a signed opt-in agreement. |
12 | (b) A valid opt-in agreement shall identify, with specificity: |
13 | (1) The precise subset of data on the device to which access is being granted; |
14 | (2) The name of the school employee(s) or third party to whom the authority to access the |
15 | device is being granted; |
16 | (3) The name of any third party to whom data is being sold, shared, or otherwise |
17 | transferred; and |
18 | (4) The purpose(s) for which the school employee(s) or third party is being granted |
19 | access to the device or for which data is being sold, shared, or otherwise transferred. |
20 | (c) No device or other educational benefit may be withheld from, or punitive measure |
21 | taken against, a student or their parent or legal guardian based in whole or in part upon a student's |
22 | refusal to open, close, or maintain an e-mail or other electronic communications or social media |
23 | account with a specific service provider. |
24 | (d) Where a take-home technology program is offered at an educational institution, the |
25 | program shall comply with chapter 104 of this title. |
26 | (e) When a device is permanently returned by a student, the educational institution or |
27 | third party who provided it shall, without otherwise accessing the data on the device, fully erase |
28 | all the data stored on the device and return the device to its default factory settings. |
29 | 16-110-3. Use of data on take-home technology. |
30 | (a) Where an educational institution or third party provides a student with a technological |
31 | device pursuant to a take-home technology program, no school employee or third party may |
32 | access such a device or the data thereupon, either remotely or in person, except in accordance |
33 | with the provisions of this chapter. |
34 | (b) No school employee or third party may access any data input into, stored upon, or |
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1 | sent or received by a student's device, including its browser, keystroke or location history, unless: |
2 | (1) A school employee or third party has been authorized to access specific data by a |
3 | student and their parent or legal guardian pursuant to a valid opt-in agreement, and access is |
4 | limited to that purpose; |
5 | (2) A school employee has reasonable suspicion that the student has violated or is |
6 | violating a school policy and that data on the device contains evidence of the suspected violation, |
7 | subject to the following limitations: |
8 | (i) Prior to searching a student's device based on reasonable suspicion, the school |
9 | employee shall document the reasonable suspicion and notify the student's parent or legal |
10 | guardian of the suspected violation and what data will be accessed in searching for evidence of |
11 | the violation; |
12 | (ii) Searches of a student's device based upon a reasonable suspicion of a school policy |
13 | violation shall be strictly limited to finding evidence of the suspected policy violation; and |
14 | (iii) Where a student is suspected of illegal conduct, no search may occur unless a judicial |
15 | warrant has been secured, even if the student is also suspected of a related or unrelated violation |
16 | of school policy; |
17 | (3) A school employee or law enforcement official reasonably suspects the student has |
18 | engaged or is engaging in illegal conduct, reasonably suspects data on the device contains |
19 | evidence of the suspected illegal conduct, and has secured a judicial warrant for a search of the |
20 | device; |
21 | (4) Doing so is necessary to update or upgrade the device's software and access is limited |
22 | to that purpose; or |
23 | (5) Doing so is necessary in response to an imminent threat to life or safety and access is |
24 | limited to that purpose. |
25 | 16-110-4. Follow up required after accessing a service. |
26 | (a) Within seventy-two (72) hours of accessing a device's location tracking technology in |
27 | response to an imminent threat to life or safety, the school employee or law enforcement official |
28 | who accessed the device shall provide the student whose device was accessed, their parent or |
29 | legal guardian and the educational institution a written explanation of the precise threat that |
30 | prompted the access and what data and features were accessed. |
31 | (b) No school employee or third party may use a device's location tracking technology to |
32 | track a device's real-time or historical location, unless: |
33 | (1) Such use is ordered pursuant to a judicial warrant; |
34 | (2) The student to whom the device was provided, or their parent or legal guardian, has |
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1 | notified a school employee or law enforcement official in writing that the device is missing or |
2 | stolen; or |
3 | (3) Doing so is necessary in response to an imminent threat to life or safety and access is |
4 | limited to that purpose. |
5 | 16-110-5. Remote access prohibited. |
6 | (a) No educational institution or third party shall activate or access any audio or video |
7 | receiving, transmitting, or recording functions on a student's device, unless: |
8 | (1) A student initiates a video chat or audio chat for educational purposes and access is |
9 | limited to that purpose; |
10 | (2) The activation and/or access is ordered pursuant to a judicial warrant; or |
11 | (3) Doing so is necessary in response to an imminent threat to life or safety and access is |
12 | limited to that purpose. |
13 | (b) Within seventy-two (72) hours of accessing a device's audio or video receiving, |
14 | transmitting, or recording functions in response to an imminent threat to life or safety, the school |
15 | employee or law enforcement official who accessed the device shall provide the student whose |
16 | device was accessed, their parent or legal guardian and the educational institution a written |
17 | explanation of the precise threat that prompted the access and what data and features were |
18 | accessed. |
19 | (c) This section shall not apply to video chats, audio chats or file transfers initiated by a |
20 | student for educational purposes and with the consent of a parent or guardian. |
21 | 16-110-6. Reasonable suspicion required for searches. |
22 | (a) No educational institution shall otherwise engage in remote access to search the |
23 | contents of a device absent reasonable suspicion that a student has engaged in misconduct. |
24 | (b) Educational institutions shall, as soon as practicable, but no later than forty-eight (48) |
25 | hours after a search has taken place, notify a student's parent or legal guardian in writing that a |
26 | search was conducted, and the reasons for the search. |
27 | (c) This shall not include instances when the student's parent or legal guardian consents |
28 | to a search after being provided a specific reason for the request. |
29 | 16-110-7. Parental disabling of Internet filtering software. |
30 | Every educational institution issuing a device shall allow parents and/or legal guardians |
31 | to request that a blocked website be unblocked in a timely manner in accordance with any |
32 | established procedures pursuant to chapter 21.6 of this title. |
33 | 16-110-8. Location tracking of devices prohibited. |
34 | No educational institution shall engage in location tracking of a device without the |
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1 | written consent of a child's parent or legal guardian, unless the device has been reported stolen |
2 | and a police report has been filed with the local police department, a student has failed to return |
3 | the device to the institution in a timely manner, or doing so is necessary in response to an |
4 | imminent threat to life or safety. |
5 | 16-110-9. Penalties. |
6 | (a) In any civil action alleging a violation of this chapter, the court may: |
7 | (1) Award to a prevailing applicant or student declaratory relief, damages, and reasonable |
8 | attorneys' fees and costs; and |
9 | (2) Award injunctive relief against any school or agent of any educational institution that |
10 | or who commits or proposes to commit a violation of this chapter. |
11 | (b) The rights provided a parent or legal guardian under this chapter shall accrue to any |
12 | student who is eighteen (18) years of age or older. |
13 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO EDUCATION - PROTECTING STUDENT PRIVACY ON SCHOOL-OWNED | |
TECHNOLOGY | |
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1 | This act would provide that no educational institution shall compel students to participate |
2 | in a take-home technology program (e.g., computers). This act would also provide student |
3 | privacy rights in the digital information contained on the computer. Access to the students' |
4 | information on the computer by school officials, law enforcement and third parties is limited to |
5 | specified circumstances. |
6 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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