Department of Education Investigating School District’s Disclosure of Personal Data for Predictive Policing Program

April 21, 2021

Following a report by the Tampa Bay Times about the Pasco County Sherriff’s broad-ranging predictive policing and scoring program, the Department of Education is investigating a Florida school district’s practice of giving the Sherriff access to students’ personal data. The disclosures may have violated the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, which places strict limits on the use of students’ educational records. In January, Rep. Robert Scott (D-VA), Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, called for an investigation of the Sheriff’s program, which used personal data to compile a list of students that the Sheriff believed could “fall into a life of crime.” EPIC has called for bans on secret scoring and mass surveillance and strict limits on the use of AI in the criminal justice system.

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