John White, the Louisiana State Commissioner of Education, announced Friday he was pulling the state's student data out of inBloom Inc., because of the protests and privacy concerns of students, parents and the some members of Louisiana Board of Education. Parents and privacy advocates in the eight other states participating in inBloom should urge their officials and Boards of education to immediately
follow Louisiana's lead.
Here is the letter White sent the board Thursday evening:
Here is the letter White sent the board Thursday evening:
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From: John White <john.white@la.gov
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:16:59 -0500
To: Chas Roemer <ChasRoemer@hotmail.com
Cc: Heather Cope <Heather.Cope@LA.GOV
Subject: Update
Members:
At Wednesday's meeting we heard some compelling testimony
regarding the state's and school districts' data storage practices. It's an
issue worth continued discussion with the board.
The data storage agreement with the inBloom database was
undertaken with caution and a sense of responsibility. However, because of the
concerns expressed by some parents, and because we have not yet had an in-depth
discussion with the board and public about data storage at the agency or
district level, I think that it is best for now that we withdraw student
information from the inBloom database. I have told our staff to do so and have
informed inBloom of our decision.
We have protected student information for decades and
take security very seriously. Given the concerns expressed by our most
important constituents -- students and families -- I'd like a chance to discuss
our policies and procedures with you before we enter into new relationships
with partners providing this service
Thanks as always for your time. Have a great weekend.
John
John White
Louisiana Department of Education
Twitter @LouisianaSupe
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