Minn. House panel narrows data access in student-family privacy bill; A1 amendment adopted

The House Education Policy Committee adopted an amendment and forwarded House File 101, a bill expanding privacy protections for student and family information, to the General Register on March 26, 2025.

The A1 amendment, offered by Representative Bennett, removed a paragraph that would have created a carve-out allowing certain school groups special access to the data covered by the bill. "It's removing the the carve out that allows, various school groups to get a hold of the data that's being dealt with in this bill," Bennett said, and argued that the change keeps the rule consistent for all requesters.

Representative Feist, the bill author, told the committee she was comfortable accepting the amendment. "I am comfortable accepting that amendment...creating these protections is important," Feist said. Feist said the bill's goal is to extend privacy protections created last term to include families and to address for‑profit recruiters contacting students with misleading offers.

Testimony in support came from Valerie Dossland of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, who thanked Feist for clarifying the law so districts can comply consistently. Rich Newmeister, who has made data requests frequently, also praised removing the carve-out as good policy.

After adoption of the A1 amendment, the committee chair moved the bill to the General Register. The motion carried.

The committee record shows limited debate beyond support for the amendment and the bill's intent to prevent unsolicited contacts to students and families. No statutes or specific enforcement mechanisms were described during the discussion recorded in committee.

House File 101 will proceed to the next stage of the legislative process as amended.