Parent contact information prohibited from being designated as publicly available directory information.
Summary
HF101 amends Minnesota’s Government Data Practices Act provisions governing school educational data and directory information. The bill keeps parent data generally private, but it makes a specific change to prohibit an educational agency or institution from treating a parent’s home address, telephone number, email address, or other personal contact information as publicly available directory information. It also clarifies that the same restriction applies even if that information had previously been designated as directory information.
The bill preserves existing requirements that schools may still share student and parent contact information with the Minnesota Department of Education when needed for federal reporting, and may share certain student and parent information with the Department of Employment and Economic Development for special education transition coordination. The effective date is the day after final enactment, and any parent contact information covered by the bill must immediately be treated as private data on individuals.
Impact
The bill amends Minnesota Statutes section 13.32, subdivisions 2 and 5, to narrow what school districts and other educational agencies may classify as directory information. Its main legal effect is to remove parent personal contact information from the category of data that can be made public through directory-information procedures, while leaving intact limited disclosures required for state and federal reporting and disability transition services. Educational agencies and institutions will need to update data-practice policies, notices, and records handling to ensure parent contact information is treated as private data.
Sentiment
The available record suggests the bill moved forward without recorded opposition in the provided materials. It was introduced, referred to Judiciary Finance and Civil Law, then re-referred to Education Policy, and later placed on the General Register as amended, indicating committee-level support and legislative advancement. No vote totals or hearing transcripts are provided, so the overall sentiment can only be characterized as generally favorable or noncontroversial based on its progression.
Contention
The central policy issue is privacy versus administrative transparency in school records. Supporters appear to favor protecting parents from public disclosure of home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and similar contact information. The main limitation built into the bill is that it does not eliminate all sharing of parent or student data; it preserves disclosures required for federal reporting and certain special education coordination functions. No specific objections are documented in the provided materials, but any concern would likely focus on whether the restriction could complicate school communications or directory-information practices.
Public postsecondary institutions requirement to keep certain student information private establishment; consent requirement before collecting student location data