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California Senate committee advances bill to expand student data protections to higher education
Summary
Assemblymember Addis' AB 1159 (CALPIPA) would modernize K–higher‑education student data privacy, extend protections to college students and create limited enforcement; privacy advocates and unions supported the bill and LAUSD raised definitional concerns. Committee moved the bill to the next committee.
Assemblymember Addis presented AB 11 59, the California Learner Personal Information Protection Act (CALPIPA), telling the Senate Education Committee it would update California's student privacy law to reflect modern EdTech and extend protections to higher‑education students. "EdTech platforms are collecting a lot of student data, much more student data than students or families realize," Addis said, describing categories that can include photos, audio, addresses and health‑related searches.
Becca Kramer of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a sponsor, said college students and dual‑enrollment high schoolers are often required to use digital services that collect highly sensitive data and that textbook providers sometimes reserve marketing rights to educational information. "No student should have to sacrifice their privacy in order to get an education," Kramer said.
Mitch Steiger with the California Federation of Teachers said educators report concerns about tracking and AI in classrooms and urged support. Los Angeles Unified School District staff described themselves as a "tweener," noting ongoing negotiations with the author to resolve definitional issues around de‑identified student information and asking for clarification so routine communications such as book lists would remain permitted.
Committee members pressed the author on scope and tradeoffs between innovation and safeguards. Several senators said protections for sensitive categories — immigration status, reproductive or health information, gender identity or sexual orientation — made this bill particularly urgent in light of recent reporting about federal data requests and platform vulnerabilities. The chair recommended an aye vote, and the committee voted to refer AB 11 59 to the Senate Committee on Digital Technologies and Consumer Protection (the motion to refer was made by Senator Gomez Reyes). The bill was placed on call for final committee processing.
