Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum threw her support behind legislation aimed at protecting student online privacy Thursday. The bill is attracting criticism in the state House.
Senate Bill 187, or the student privacy bill, aims to stop vendors from using their software to advertise to students, or to collect and store students' personal information.
Technology teacher Doug Bundy at Raleigh Hills School, in Beaverton.
Rob Manning / OPB
The bill passed the Senate without opposition. But it barely cleared the House Education Committee along party lines, this week, with conditional support from Rep. Jeff Reardon, D-Portland.
"I will give a courtesy 'yes' vote to my esteemed chair, and out of respect to all my colleagues who have worked hard on this," said Reardon Wednesday. "But I do reserve the right to be a 'no' on the floor."
Republicans on the committee have say the student privacy bill may discourage software companies from doing business with Oregon schools. Supporters say there's a similar law in California, and software companies are likely to yield to the market leverage of Oregon and California.
The bill is headed to the House floor.