Calif. Lawsuit Raises Concerns Over Use of Education Data

(TNS) — An ongoing California lawsuit has raised questions not only about educational equity during the pandemic, but of how much control state agencies should have over researchers who use education data.

To gain access to nonpublic education data in the Golden State, which has the largest school-age population in the country, researchers agree to protect potentially identifiable student information. But they also agreed not to "testify, advise, or consult" for anyone except the state board of education or education department without advance permission — nor to release "any aggregation, compilation or derivative of the data, even if de-identified."

In practical terms, that meant the state could threaten to revoke a researcher's access to education data and sue them for up to $50,000 in damages if they provided testimony or analysis against the state — even if they did so based on data from other sources.

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