Assembly Committees heard testimony today, May 14, from a number of experts representing academia, industry, and government on the use of cloud computing technology by school districts to transmit and store student data, during a joint informational hearing at the State Capitol.

The hearing was held by the Assembly Select Committee on Privacy and the Assembly Committee on Education.

“Technological advances such as cloud computing services, are presenting school districts with a more efficient way of storing and retrieving digital data,” said Assemblymember Chau (D-Monterey Park), Chair of the Select Committee on Privacy. “As school districts adopt cloud computing systems for data storage or management purposes, we need to ensure that student privacy is safeguarded against inappropriate use without stifling the growth of technology in educational settings.”

Assemblymember Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo) noted that, “Advances in information technology have led to greater administrative efficiencies as well as new and exciting ways to deliver instruction.  We must ensure that current privacy protections for students under federal and state law are preserved when schools take advantage of these new technologies.  These protections must extend to data stored or exchanged with private vendors that contract with districts to provide administrative services or instructional materials and supports.”

Scheduled witnesses included representatives from the California Department of Education, Santa Clara County Office of Education, Software & Information Industry Association, Fordham Center on Law and Information Policy, Data Quality Campaign, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Also represented on the panel was a parent’s perspective by Mr. Steven Liao.