John White's letter to his Board of Education about pulling out of inBloom

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: 

From: John White <john.white@la.gov>> Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:16:59 -0500 To: Chas Roemer <ChasRoemer@hotmail.com>>, "James_Garvey@hmhlp.com" <James_Garvey@hmhlp.com>>, Holly Boffy <holly.boffy@gmail.com>>, "Orange Jones, Kira" <Kira.OrangeJones@teachforamerica.org>>, Carolyn Hill <carolyn.hill2@la.gov>>, Lottie Beebe <lottie_beebe@stmartin.k12.la.us>>, Jay Guillot <jguillot@hga-llc.com>>, Walter Lee <wclee1@att.net>>, Connie Bradford <cebradford@suddenlink.net>>, Stephen Waguespack <SWaguespack@joneswalker.com>>, "<jmiranti@xula.edu>>" <jmiranti@xula.edu>> 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