California State Assembly members Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) and Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) have proposed new student privacy protections to ensure personal information, such as social security numbers, are appropriately protected by school districts.

The legislation was prompted by a recent decision to turn over the records of 10 million California public school students to a private organization. The recent ruling that resulted from Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association, et al. v. California Department of Education compelled the school system to provide sensitive information – including social security numbers, mental health and medical information – for students dating back to 2008 to a parents group in Santa Clara County. Assembly Bill 2097 would prohibit school districts from gathering social security numbers and other sensitive information for students except where required by federal law.

“During an era of omnipresent intrusion in our lives and increasingly frequent data breaches, all levels of government should be taking steps to safeguard our sensitive, personal information, especially where it involves our children,” Gatto said.