§ 17:3914 — Student information; privacy; legislative intent; definitions; prohibitions; parental
§3914. Student information; privacy; legislative intent; definitions; prohibitions; parental access; penalties A. The legislature hereby declares that all personally identifiable information is protected as a right to privacy under the Constitution of Louisiana and the Constitution of the United States. B.
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§3914. Student information; privacy; legislative intent; definitions; prohibitions; parental
access; penalties
A. The legislature hereby declares that all personally identifiable information is
protected as a right to privacy under the Constitution of Louisiana and the Constitution of the
United States.
B.(1) For purposes of this Section, "personally identifiable information" is defined
as information about an individual that can be used on its own or with other information to
identify, contact, or locate a single individual, including but not limited to the following:
(a) Any information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity
such as full name, social security number, date and place of birth, mother's maiden name, or
biometric records.
(b) Any other information that is linked or linkable to an individual such as medical,
educational, financial, and employment information.
(c) Two or more pieces of information that separately or when linked together can
be used to reasonably ascertain the identity of the person.
(2) For purposes of this Section, "aggregate data" are statistics and other information
that relate to broad classes, groups, or categories from which it is not possible to distinguish
the identities of individuals.
(3) For purposes of this Section, "parent or legal guardian" shall mean a student's
parent, legal guardian, or other person or entity responsible for the student.
C.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Subpart or any other law to the contrary,
no official or employee of a city, parish, or other local public school system shall require the
collection of any of the following student information unless voluntarily disclosed by the
parent or legal guardian:
(a) Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student's parent.
(b) Mental or psychological problems of the student or the student's family.
(c) Sexual behavior or attitudes.
(d) Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior.
(e) Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom a student has a close family
relationship.
(f) Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of
lawyers, physicians, and ministers.
(g) Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or the student's parent.
(h) Family income.
(i) Biometric information.
(j) Repealed by Acts 2025, No. 187, §2.
(k) Gun ownership.
(l) Home Internet Protocol Address.
(m) External digital identity.
(2) No official or employee of a city, parish, or other local public school system shall
provide personally identifiable student information to any member of the school board or to
any other person or public or private entity, except such an official or employee may, in
accordance with applicable state and federal law:
(a) Provide a student's identification number as provided in Paragraph (3) of this
Subsection and aggregate data to the local school board, the state Department of Education,
or the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education solely for the purpose of
satisfying state and federal reporting requirements.
(b)(i) Provide to the state Department of Education, for the purpose of satisfying
state and federal assessment, auditing, funding, monitoring, program administration, and
state accountability requirements, information from which enough personally identifiable
information has been removed such that the remaining information does not identify a
student and there is no basis to believe that the information alone can be used to identify a
student. No official or employee of the state Department of Education shall share such
information with any person or public or private entity located outside of Louisiana, other
than for purposes of academic analysis of assessments or for purposes of research as
authorized in Item (ii) of this Subparagraph.
(ii) An official or employee of the state Department of Education may share such
information with a person who is an employee of, and conducting academic research at, any
postsecondary education institution accredited by a regional or national accrediting
organization recognized by the United States Department of Education, provided the person
and the department have entered into a memorandum of understanding in which the person
agrees to be liable for any criminal and civil penalties imposed as provided in Subsection G
of this Section for any violation of the provisions of this Section.
(c) Provide personally identifiable information regarding a particular student to any
person or public or private entity if the sharing of the particular information with the
particular recipient of the information has been authorized in writing by the parent or legal
guardian of the student, or by a student who has reached the age of legal majority, or if the
information is provided to a person authorized by the state, including the legislative auditor,
to audit processes including student enrollment counts. Any recipient of such information
shall maintain the confidentiality of such information. Any person who knowingly and
willingly fails to maintain the confidentiality of such information shall be subject to the
penalties provided in Subsection G of this Section.
(d) Provide for the transfer of student information pursuant to the provisions of R.S.
17:112.
(e) Provide student information for a school year prior to the 2015-2016 school year
for the purpose of completing or correcting required submissions to the state Department of
Education or responding to financial audits.
(3) By not later than May 1, 2015, the state Department of Education shall develop
a system of unique student identification numbers. By not later than August 1, 2015, each
local public school board shall assign such a number to every student enrolled in a public
elementary or secondary school. Student identification numbers shall not include or be based
on social security numbers, and a student shall retain his student identification number for
his tenure in Louisiana public elementary and secondary schools.
D.(1) Except as provided in Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Subsection, no person or
public or private entity shall access a public school computer system on which student
information is stored. No official or employee of a public school system shall authorize
access to such a computer system to any person or public or private entity except as
authorized by Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Subsection.
(2) The following persons may access a public school computer system on which
student information for students at a particular school is stored:
(a) A student who has reached the age of eighteen or is judicially emancipated or
emancipated by marriage and the parent or legal guardian of a student who is under the age
of eighteen and not emancipated. For a student who has reached the age of eighteen or is
emancipated, such access is limited to information about the student. For the parent or legal
guardian of a student who has not reached the age of eighteen and is not emancipated, such
access shall be limited to information about the student. A student who has reached the age
of eighteen or is emancipated and the parent or legal guardian of a student who has not
reached the age of eighteen and is not emancipated may authorize, in writing, another person
to access such information.
(b) A teacher of record. Such access shall be limited to information about his current
students.
(c) The school principal and school registrar.
(d) A school system employee employed at the school and designated by the
principal. Such access shall be limited to student information necessary to perform his
duties.
(e) A person authorized by the superintendent to maintain or repair the computer
system or to provide services that the school system would otherwise provide.
(f) A person authorized by the state to audit student records.
(3) The following persons may access a computer system of a city, parish, or other
local public school system on which student information for students from throughout the
system is stored:
(a) The superintendent of the school system.
(b) A school system employee designated by the superintendent. Such access shall
be limited to student information necessary to perform his duties.
(c) A person authorized by the superintendent to maintain or repair the computer
system or to provide services that the school system would otherwise provide.
(d) A person authorized by the state to audit student records.
(4) Any person who is authorized by this Subsection to access a public school
computer system, except a parent or legal guardian, shall maintain the confidentiality of any
student information to which he has access. Failure to maintain the confidentiality of such
information is punishable as provided in Subsection G of this Section.
E.(1) No person who has access to student information shall convert the student
information as specified in Subparagraph (C)(2)(b) of this Section such that the remaining
information can be used to identify a student.
(2) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
Department of Education shall not require a city, parish, or other local public school system
to limit a student's learning opportunity or opportunities to explore any occupation based
upon predictive modeling.
F.(1) A city, parish, or other local public school board may contract with a public or
private entity for student and other education services, and pursuant to such contract, student
information, including personally identifiable information and cumulative records, may be
transferred to computers operated and maintained by the entity for such purpose.
(2) No contractor pursuant to this Subsection shall allow access to, release, or allow
the release of student information to any person or entity except as specified in the contract.
No contractor shall use student information to conduct predictive modeling for the purpose
of limiting the educational opportunities of students.
(3) A contract pursuant to this Subsection shall include requirements regarding the
protection of student information which at a minimum include provision for all of the
following:
(a) Guidelines for authorizing access to computer systems on which student
information is stored including guidelines for authentication of authorized access.
(b) Privacy compliance standards.
(c) Privacy and security audits performed under the direction of the local school
superintendent.
(d) Breach planning, notification, and remediation procedures.
(e) Information storage, retention, and disposition policies.
(f) Disposal of all information from the servers of the contractor upon termination
of the contract, unless otherwise directed by an applicable legal requirement or otherwise
specified in the contract and subject to the privacy protection provisions of this Part. Upon
termination of the contract, all information removed from the contractor's servers shall be
returned to the city, parish, or other local public school board.
(4) The requirements of Paragraph (3) of this Subsection shall not apply to a contract
entered into prior to June 1, 2015, for the acquisition of goods, equipment, or instructional
materials purchased in accordance with R.S. 38:2212.1(E), (F), or (N) but shall apply to any
extension or renewal of such contract.
(5) Any person who knowingly and willingly violates the provisions of this
Subsection shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than
three years, or both.
G. Except as provided in Paragraph (F)(5) of this Section, a person who violates any
provision of this Section shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than six months
or by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars.
H. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a person employed in a public school or
other person authorized by the superintendent of the public school or school system from
being provided or having access to a student's records in accordance with a policy adopted
by the local public school board for such purpose.
I. The provisions of this Part shall apply to each charter school, its governing
authority, and any education management organization under contract to operate a charter
school.
J.(1) No city, parish, or other local public school system, local or state governmental
agency, public or private entity, or any person with access to personally identifiable student
information shall sell, transfer, share, or process any student data for use in commercial
advertising, or marketing, or any other commercial purpose, unless otherwise stipulated in
a contract for services as provided in Subsection (F) of this Section.
(2) The provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall not apply to a student's
parent or legal guardian, or a student who has reached the legal age of majority.
K.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Part to the contrary, the governing
authority of each public school, with the permission of a student's parent or legal guardian,
shall collect the following personally identifiable information for each student enrolled in
grades eight through twelve:
(a) Full name.
(b) Date of birth.
(c) Social security number.
(d) Student transcript data.
(e) Race and ethnicity data.
(2) The governing authority of a public school and the company that the state has
contracted with to develop the unique student identifier shall disclose the information
collected pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, upon request, only to:
(a) A Louisiana postsecondary education institution, to be used solely for the purpose
of processing applications for admission and for compliance with state and federal reporting
requirements.
(b) The Board of Regents and the office of student financial assistance, as a program
under its jurisdiction, to be used for the purpose of processing applications made to the office
for state and federal grants and for required grant program reporting; for the purposes of
providing reports to each public school governing authority on the postsecondary education
remediation needs, retention rates, and graduation rates for each high school under its
jurisdiction; and for the purpose of evaluating comparative postsecondary education
performance outcomes based on student transcript data in order to develop policies designed
to improve student academic achievement.
(3)(a) The governing authority of each public school shall, at the beginning of each
school year, provide a form to be signed by the parent or legal guardian of each student in
grades eight through twelve enrolled in the school, whereby the student's parent or legal
guardian may provide consent or deny consent for the collection and disclosure of the
student's information as provided in Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Subsection.
(b) No data shall be collected pursuant to this Subsection, unless a student's parent
or legal guardian provides written consent.
(c) The form shall contain the following:
(i) A statement notifying the student's parent or legal guardian exactly what items of
student information will be collected and that disclosure of the student information collected
will be restricted to Louisiana postsecondary education institutions to be used for the
purposes of processing applications for admission and for compliance with state and federal
reporting requirements to the Board of Regents and to the office of student financial
assistance, as a program under the board's jurisdiction, to be used for the purposes of
processing applications for admission and for state and federal financial aid for required
grant program reporting; for providing reports to the school governing authority on the
postsecondary education remediation needs, retention rates, and graduation rates for each
high school under its jurisdiction; and for evaluating comparative postsecondary education
performance outcomes based on student transcript data in order to develop policies designed
to improve student academic achievement.
(ii) Notification that the failure to provide written consent for the collection and
disclosure of the student's information as provided in this Subsection may result in delays or
may prevent successful application for admission to a postsecondary educational institution
and for state and federal student financial aid. This statement shall be displayed prominently
and shall be printed in bold type.
(d) Consent provided by a student's parent or legal guardian shall continue unless
such consent is withdrawn in writing. Annual notification shall be provided to the student's
parent or legal guardian as to the right and process used to withdraw consent.
(4) Each Louisiana postsecondary education institution, the Board of Regents, and
the Office of Student Financial Assistance shall destroy all data collected for purposes of this
Subsection not later than five years after the student graduates, unless otherwise required by
state or federal law or regulation.
L.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Part to the contrary, a local public school
system and the governing authority of a Type 2 charter school that enrolls students who
reside within the geographic boundaries of the local school system shall enter into a
memorandum of understanding to exchange student information necessary to verify student
enrollment and residency status. The local public school system and the charter school
governing authority shall keep such information strictly confidential and shall use the
information for no other purpose than verifying student enrollment and residency.
(2) A memorandum of understanding entered into pursuant to the provisions of this
Subsection shall comply with all applicable state and federal law, including the Family
Educational Rights Privacy Act.
(3) Any person who knowingly and willfully fails to maintain the confidentiality of
such information shall be subject to the penalties provided in Subsection G of this Section.
M.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary and except as provided
in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the governing authority of each public or nonpublic
school or other entity that participates in a meal program through which students are eligible
for the summer electronic benefits transfer program shall share student information with the
Louisiana Department of Health for the purpose of facilitating program administration,
including but not limited to the automatic issuance of benefits to eligible families. Such
information shall be limited to the first name, middle name, last name, address, school site
code, student unique identifier, and date of birth of each student eligible for free or reduced
price meals at school.
(2) Such a governing authority shall not share a student's information if his parent
or legal guardian has chosen not to share information pursuant to the policy of the governing
authority.
N.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the contrary, each public
secondary school governing authority shall do the following:
(a) For the sole purpose of evaluating state and federal programs that prepare
students for postsecondary education, workforce training, and employment, including the
return on investment analysis conducted by Louisiana Works pursuant to R.S. 17:3138.13,
collect the social security number of each student who is pursuing a diploma, not later than
the beginning of the student's senior year. In order to facilitate the performance of these
evaluations, each governing authority shall share the collected social security numbers,
matched to the corresponding student names and unique student identification numbers, with
the state Department of Education, and the department shall share the social security numbers
and other information with Louisiana Works. The departments shall keep the social security
numbers confidential except for this purpose.
(b) Disclose the social security number to the company with which the state has
contracted to develop unique student identifiers and Louisiana Works.
(c) Repealed by Acts 2025, No. 187, §2.
(2) The company with which the state has contracted to develop the unique student
identifier shall assign an identifier for each student who successfully completes high school
from the lists provided by public school governing authorities and provide a list of unique
identifiers and corresponding social security numbers to Louisiana Works for the purpose of
matching the information, until the individual reaches the age of twenty-six, wage data,
North American Industry Classification System data through the third digit, and Standard
Occupational Classification System data.
(3) For the express purpose of state and federal program evaluation, Louisiana Works
shall remove any and all social security numbers from the data and provide to the state
Department of Education and the Industry-Based Certification Committee a list of high
school graduates for whom the wage and employment data specified in Paragraph (2) of this
Subsection are available.
(4) Any exchange of student information pursuant to the provisions of this
Subsection shall comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 CFR Part
603, regarding the confidentiality of unemployment compensation information, and the
provisions of R.S. 23:1660.
(5) Any agreement providing for the exchange of information pursuant to the
provisions of this Subsection shall provide for the payment of any costs of disclosure of wage
and employment data specified in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.
(6) Any person who knowingly and willfully fails to maintain the confidentiality of
personally identifiable information of students is subject to the penalties provided for in
Subsection G of this Section and the provisions of R.S. 23:1660.
O. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, including this Section, the state child
ombudsman shall receive, upon written request, any student record for the purposes of
carrying out the ombudsman's duties from any public elementary or secondary school; any
city, parish, or other local public school system; or the state Department of Education.
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