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Witnesses urge study-first approach on H.650; agency recommends two-track solution for ed‑tech
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Summary
Industry and agency witnesses told the Senate Education Committee that H.650 needs clearer definitions and a dual approach: make statewide privacy protections universal now and order a study/report on ed‑tech effectiveness and age‑appropriate use rather than an immediate product certification that could exclude useful tools.
Industry and agency witnesses appeared before the Senate Education Committee on H.650, a bill proposing a registration/certification approach for educational technology and student privacy protections.
Abigail Wilson, representing the State Policy Information Association, told the committee that the bill ‘‘misses the mark' s currently drafted’’ because it risks treating institutional educational technology the same as consumer apps. She said institutional products already operate under a suite of federal requirements (FERPA, COPPA, CIPA, IDEA) and that a new, broad certification layer could duplicate existing oversight, impose compliance costs that drive small providers from the Vermont market, and unintentionally remove tools used as legally required accommodations for students with disabilities.
Agency of Education witnesses proposed a two‑track approach. The agency recommended making data‑privacy protections universal by requiring districts to participate in the Vermont Student Data Privacy Alliance/National Data Privacy Agreement framework and by funding statewide implementation support (the agency estimated a benchmark cost of roughly $1 per student). Separately, the agency urged the committee to require an annual survey and a focused study on ed‑tech effectiveness and classroom implementation (with an emphasis on math and English language arts as priorities and oversight of AI platforms used with students).
The agency provided coverage figures for the existing privacy database: it currently includes "active data privacy agreements covering 923 unique educational technology products representing 2,438 individual district vendor agreements across 44 supervisory union districts," and the agency recommended closing gaps in participation rather than building a Vermont‑only certification regime.
District technologists and nonprofit partners representing local technology leads (Walter Ripley and Peter Drescher) supported the agency's approach, emphasizing the value of the piggyback/purchasing model, the need for district capacity and teacher support for implementation, and the risk that a state certification process could be slow and constrain innovation.
Sponsoring members and other legislators acknowledged privacy concerns and asked the agency and industry for draft language that would define key terms (what counts as "educational technology" vs. consumer tools), specify age bands for restricted uses, and prohibit advertising or commercial use of student data in school‑contracted products. The committee requested the agency and witnesses provide follow‑up detail on vendor behavior, advertising and data‑use practices, and examples from other states as the committee refines H.650.
The committee did not vote on H.650; members asked staff to solicit draft language, gather additional witnesses and data, and continue hearings in the coming weeks.
No formal actions were taken during the session.
