Technological School Safety Initiatives: Considerations to Protect All Students
Schools, districts, and states are turning to data and technology to address school safety issues such as shootings, bullying, and self-harm. Despite the growing recognition of poor data quality and limited research on school safety, federal and state policymakers are recommending increased use of technological school safety initiatives to improve school safety.
The tech-based school safety initiatives that are being discussed include integrating students’ education data with other types of personal information; expanding data access to more entities, especially law enforcement; surveilling social media and email; providing law enforcement with real-time access to school video cameras; deploying facial recognition; creating databases that track behavior threat assessments and are accessible by multiple stakeholders; and promoting anonymous reporting tools.
However, these initiatives have the potential to harm the students they are intended to protect. Our student privacy team, alongside the Brennan Center, developed this two-pager to lay out considerations to protect all students, as well as actions for education leaders and policymakers.
Coalition Urges Senate Not to Let Companies Waive Financial Regulations for AI
CDT joined AI Now Institute, American Civil Liberties Union, and several organizations dedicated to tech policy, consumer protection, and civil rights in a letter to Senate leadership and the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee opposing the “AI Innovation Labs” language in Sec. 10509 of the CLARITY Act.
The Privacy Paradox: How Government Data Has Become Less Private and Less Useful
Providing ready access to information collected and maintained by the government promotes accountability, innovation, and research, making transparency a core responsibility of serving as a steward of the public’s data. Public agencies must also safeguard sensitive information when making data publicly available.
Defending State Data: Lessons from California v. USDA
As the federal government increasingly seeks access to state administrative data, policymakers should consider not only legal authority and privacy implications, but also the practical effects on public confidence, program effectiveness, and states’ ability to fulfill their obligations to residents.
CDT and Partners Urge Passage of the California Location Privacy Act of 2025 (AB 322)
Location data is particularly sensitive, and when collected across time it can reveal a broad range of intrusive insights such as medical conditions, sexual orientation, political activities, and religious beliefs.
