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Common Core

Kansas is Leading the Way in Securing Students' Data!



The puppeteer-controlled media propaganda machine has attempted to convince concerned parents, grandparents, guardians, teachers, administrators and states' legislators that a couple of states have opted out of Common Core, when, in fact, they haven't. So, it is exciting to learn that there is positive news on the education and Common Core fronts. While the Kansas legislature continues to uphold nationally imposed, Common Core control of education, in place of local control, it has taken a major step in restricting the data abuse that is embedded within Common Core. Because of this, the state of Kansas is leading the way in securing students' data with legislation that may be a template for other states to copy.
I had an opportunity to visit with Paul Schwartz, who was a major contributor to the legislation that Kansas Governor, Sam Brownback, signed into law on May 14, 2014. Paul shared how he became involved in fighting 'the Octopus' of Common Core, and how we arrived at the signing of the legislation to protect children/students from the abuse of their data. As a brief aside, before continuing with Paul's experience with Common Core, if you haven't heard of it, prior to reading this column, could it be that you aren't supposed to know what is going on within our educational system? It has been a lightening rod issue for several years, yet still, many people are oblivious to this attack upon our children/students, our economy and our republic. If you are aware of Common Core, how did you hear about it? Was it due to the $50 million advertising blitzkrieg by the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, especially on FOX News, attempting to indoctrinate a populace ignorant of what is being pushed upon them? At some point, people need to realize that the puppeteer-controlled media has morphed into a giant propaganda machine. We don't have freedom of the press, throughout the media; we have a media with the power to suppress! Now back to Paul's experience. Prior to the Fall of 2013, not surprisingly, Paul had never heard of Common Core. While attending a 'Parents' Night' at school, a friend asked Paul if he was familiar with Common Core. When Paul said he wasn't, his friend gave him a '2-minute, elevator speech' about Common Core. Paul was open to learning more, so he had his friend forward several emails with information on Common Core. Paul spent two to three hours reviewing the emails provided, and then he launched his own due diligence into researching Common Core. Paul invested over twenty hours on the front end to become familiar enough with Common Core to realize this was an issue that demanded his and his wife, Stacy's, attention. Stacy and Paul have two daughters in school, and a major reason why they chose to live where they do, was based upon the reputation of the school district where their daughters attend school.

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While doing his research, Paul came across the 'Four Assurances' of Common Core. They are:
  1. Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace, and to compete in the global economy
  2. Recruiting, developing, rewarding and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most
  3. Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction
  4. Turning around our lowest-achieving schools
Aside from the fact that all of these flowery words are little more than horse manure, being a corporate IT data security, compliance expert within the healthcare industry, the 'data systems' were of particular importance to Paul. In reviewing the National Education Data Model, Paul was alarmed at the intention of accumulating over 400 data points on each child/student, every year, from K-12, and beyond. In researching the current data situation, Paul found that the state of Kansas currently accumulates 91 data points, which prompted several questions, including, but not limited to, 'Why 91 data points'? 'Do parents know about the accumulation of 91 data points on each of their children (let alone the planned increase to 400+ data points)'? 'What are these data points'? 'Do these data points add to the educational value of each child/student'? 'Are these data points secured'? 'Is there adequate security data privacy training'? 'Who has access to these data points, and why'? Paul was unable to obtain answers from teachers, principals, or members of the school board. Then he found out that in 2001-02, the state accumulated only 16 data points on children/students, and that due to the increase in data accumulated, additional staff was needed to process the data for state and federal reports. In addition to the questions above, the question about a state or school district standard on data, and its protection, being in place arose. Again, the answer was 'No'! While some aspects of Common Core may be theoretical, the data issue is not theory, but fact. Unbeknownst to most parents, over 400 Personal Identifiable Information (PII) points, containing the most sensitive data of the most vulnerable within our society, our children, is to be accumulated, and shared, almost indiscriminately, on an annual basis. Our children are being debased into becoming little more than widgets, to be manipulated by self-appointed elites. Because children are viewed as widgets for the wealthy within the elites' brave new world, there are no established standards for data protection. Due to data challenges that had occurred previously, in 1974, the Federal Education and Privacy Act (FERPA) was passed to protect students' data. How many parents are aware of FERPA, and its original intent? How many parents are aware that the parental privacy protections for their children, provided by FERPA, have been gutted, AFTER their respective state's Governor had accepted Common Core State Standards, sight unseen? There are 293 public school districts within the state of Kansas. This number does not include the number of Catholic and parochial school districts, or account for the number of children who are home schooled. Most parents would probably be a bit unnerved to learn that, in addition to no having an 'opt-in' option for the data accumulation and sharing, and no protections being in place to protect their children's data, should a data breach occur, a school district is not legally required to alert those impacted by a data breach. With this information and his professional background, Paul joined a roster of people who educate parents, grandparents, guardians, teachers, administrators and legislators in Kansas and Missouri, about the many ills of Common Core, especially with regards to the overall data issue. For all parties involved, evolving technology continues to outpace the ability of the educational system and those in the legislature to stay abreast of the changes. The role of educators is to educate and the role of legislators is to legislate. This leaves a gaping hole within the evolving technology for an intricate web of corporate and elite-established, public, private, and public-private 'stakeholders' to exploit the data accumulation and sharing opportunities for private power and wealth, at the expense of the children/students. Anyone concerned with potential data privacy breaches may want to visit privacyrights.org for a chronology of data breaches, many of which aren't reported upon within the media, to realize how vulnerable all of us are to data breaches. The attacks against data are domestic and foreign in origin. Do we really want this potential hazard to be imposed upon our children? In Kansas, the data site housing students' data is KIDS, Kansas Individual Data on Students. The private company hosting this site has no expertise in securing data, so it must use a 3rd Party vendor to secure the data. With the introduction of additional companies into the data daisy chain, the potential for data piracy and abuse increases. As Paul noted, the concepts of data privacy and data sharing are polar opposites. The more data sharing is allowed, the greater the possibility, even the probability, of a data breach and abuse. When Paul became familiar with Kansas Senate Bill SB367, he contacted Representative Kasha Kelley, Chairperson of the House Education Committee, to see what could be done to protect the child/student, regarding data privacy. Paul devoted about 30 hours over one weekend to devise amendments to SB367. Following his review of Senate Bill, SB367, Paul was asked to testify as an expert on the subject of data security in front of 19 members of the Kansas House Education Committee. A couple of corporate lobbyists were also invited to testify. One of the lobbyists, who was vague about who he represented, opposed Paul's concerns and potential solutions for securing students' data, because the solutions would impede how businesses conduct business with schools. I believe you will appreciate Paul's response to this opposition; he said that schools exist to educate students, not to help businesses make money! Another major concern Paul has, is the fact that schools are assisting students to establish online access through an email address, and the majority of parents are in the dark on this, too. There isn't even an opt-out option at this time! When a gmail.com account is established, every email is read. This, and the sites visited by a gmail.com user, leads to a flurry of ads to the student user. How many parents want their children marketed to, because they have gmail.com accounts that the parents don't even know exist? With predators surfing for potential hook-ups, etc., wouldn't most parents be shocked to learn that their child has an email account, of which they are unaware? How does a parent employ parental control over an unknown account? Additionally, in regards to the data of a student that is stored, who are the vendors who have access to a student's data, why, how long do they save the data (do they ever delete it?), and, do they share it, too, exposing the student to increased risk, while amassing additional profits from expanding the data daisy-chain situation? Following Paul's professional input, SB367 was amended in the Kansas Senate, and sent to the Kansas House for approval. A Conference Committee was convened, to arrive at an agreement upon four (4) amendments to the bill within both Houses of the Kansas Legislature. The amendments were agreed upon, and the overall bill was passed, unanimously, within both Houses. Governor Brownback signed SB367, with its enhanced protection of student data, into law, on May 14th! The four (4) amendments are:
  1. A restriction upon who has access to a student's data, based upon better business justifications, beyond any business just requesting access to data;
  2. A parental 'OPT-IN' of data accumulation and sharing;
  3. Every school is required to notify all whose data may have been compromised ASAP;
  4. Every school is required to notify the Kansas Attorney General of any potential data breach.
While these four amendments still leave some room for improvement, they provide a huge step in securing students' data in Kansas, reducing the potential for abuse, reducing the potential breaches of their data, and reducing becoming deluged with marketing offers from uninvited companies. These changes are to go into effect with the next school year, beginning in August 2014. Parents will be provided an 'Opt-In' form for data privacy and sharing. Among the key benefits of this amendment is that any clueless parents will now know something about the data piracy that was to go into effect, and they have the opportunity to protect their children's data. Based upon the type of potential data breach that might occur, provisions for penalties are also now in place, to encourage the securing of data, and to punish those who don't implement proper controls on data that is accumulated and shared/sold. In the event of a breach, the Attorney General will have the authority to review what happened, in order to impose a just penalty upon the party, or parties, responsible for the data breach. Because of this, every school will be motivated to establish a data security protocol to safeguard data, and protect itself, in addition to protecting the students within the school. Regarding the enforcement of these new aspects to the law, residents, especially parents, will need to be vigilant in monitoring the application of these new defenses that have been provided. There isn't much within the Common Core standards and curriculum, which benefits the students. Parents and genuine stakeholders in the protection of data must step forward, to ensure that children/students do not become victims of a data-mining scheme, concocted by those seeking to impose their power within the realm of education, all-the-while, accumulating fortunes at the expense of those they profess to serve. The parents and students within state of Kansas owe a deep debt of gratitude to Paul Schwartz for his dogged determination to save his daughters, and the sons and daughters of parents throughout the state of Kansas. Kansans also need to acknowledge the efforts of the Education Committees and both houses of the state legislature, for adopting Paul's recommendations for data security and penalties for those who fail to comply. Which state will take the baton, and craft similar legislation within its educational system?


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A.J. Cameron -- Bio and Archives

A.J. Cameron was born in Kansas City, MO, and raised in Prairie Village, KS. He is a graduate of Rockhurst High School and University of Kansas, and is a the former president of the Native Sons & Daughters of Greater Kansas City. Having worked for international and local, start-up companies, A. J. brings a wide range of insight to many of the challenging issues of the day. A.J. seeks to engage readers on key issues with views grounded in time-tested principles and common sense.


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