A New Tennessee Bill Barely Scratches The Surface To Address The Concerns Of Students Who Are Worried About Their Personal Information Being Shared To Third Parties.
Image: Middle Tennessee State University students listening and taking notes. Image Credit: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service / Picryl / Public Domain
The Tennessee Conservative [By Rebecca Scott] –
Senator Page Walley (R-Savannah-District 26) is sponsoring Senate Bill 1745 (SB1745) which was introduced and passed on first consideration on January 11, 2024.
The companion House bill (HB1837) is sponsored by Representative Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro-District 34).
In summary, the bill “prohibits a public institution of higher learning that holds personal information of students from sharing the personal information with a third party, unless the third party agrees in writing that the personal information will only be used for the purpose for which information is originally requested. – Amends TCA Title 10, Chapter 7 and Title 49.”
This means that a Tennessee public college, university, technical, or business school that offers students the ability to attain an associates degree or higher cannot share the personal information of students without the third party meeting certain guidelines.
This bill seems a bit bare-bones in the sense that it still allows for the sharing of students’ personal information from their institutes of higher learning to third parties, it simply insists that the third party jump through one extra hoop to obtain the information.
While most people are concerned with the sharing of their personal information and are tired of receiving correspondences from third parties, this bill only scratches the surface of getting third party sharing under control.
It is unclear what sort of recourse can be taken if the third parties fail to hold to their agreement.
Perhaps of greater concern, this bill does not require any consent from the students in relation to the sharing of their personal information. While a step in the right direction, this bill certainly leaves room for improvement.
Rebecca Scott is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative.
You can reach Rebecca at Rebecca@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
