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This joint blog is shared in coordination with Public Interest Privacy Center (PIPC), who supports the Âܲ·AVÊÓƵStudent & Child Privacy Center.

This week, Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal introduced an updated version of the (KOSA).

This version of KOSA is the same language Blackburn/Blumenthal introduced in December 2024, but this time the education provision is explicitly included. (As a reminder: Senators Blackburn/Blumenthal introduced a version of KOSPA last December that had an exception requiring covered platforms to provide certain safeguards and parental tools directly to the school when the platform is acting on behalf of the school under a contract that complies with COPPA and FERPA. However, it was unclear if the provision was meant to be included since the language was in brackets.) Including this specific provision for schools addresses our previous concerns that parents might be able to override privacy settings schools have negotiated with edtech companies or even delete student accounts needed for school use.

Maintaining schools' capacity to effectively use technology when the school has a privacy-protective contract with the vendor requires that child privacy and online safety legislation include specific provisions addressing its application in educational environments. Âܲ·AVÊÓƵstrongly advocates for incorporating education specific provisions into broader child privacy and online safety bills to ensure that schools can continue to effectively utilize technology in the classroom. For example, Âܲ·AVÊÓƵhas worked closely with Senators Markey and Cassidy to incorporate education language into the Children and Teen’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), as well as with Representative Bilirakis to include an education provision in his KOSA AINS last summer. We applaud Senators Blackburn/Blumenthal for joining this distinguished group of policymakers and including an education-specific provision in her updated version of KOSA.

Stay tuned for more information as we keep digging into the new KOSA. We’ll keep you updated on our analysis as it develops.