Miller unveiled a modified version of his amendment late the night before the panel voted on it. The measure prohibits schools from entering into an agreement with entities that "monitor, gather, or obtain information used to advertise, sell, or develop a product from any student" under age18 without prior parental consent. It exempts colleges, certain tests, curriculum and instructional material development, and information used to respond to a specific request from a student.

Miller said, "My bill simply makes it clear that if students are going to be asked to divulge personal information to people who plan to profit from it, parents should be involved in that decision . . . . If parents do not want their children to be objects of market research firms while in school, they should have the right to say ‘No’."

Serious Flaws, Despite Revisions

Miller characterized the amendment as curbing "market research," and specifically cited examples of a cable TV station, cereal company, and ZapMe!, which provides Web access and computers to schools. But the measure would have a much broader reach.

As written, it would apply to anyone who had an "agreement" with a school. It is unclear whether that would cover individual teachers, counselors, and administrators. It could still curb programs that recognize student achievement, provide enrichment activities, sponsor book fairs, as well as Internet services and teachers pointing students and parents to education-related publications intended for home use.

The exemptions section remains seriously flawed. For example, it exempts recruitment activities of colleges, but not the organizations that provide names to do so. And the exemption for publishers restricts the use of information for a specific product, preventing publishers from using it for other educational publications.

Kids in the Know has noted that the measure would most likely have the chilling effect of telling teachers and schools to stop working with outside organizations, even when those groups provide beneficial products and services. Most experts recognize that schools will not collect and keep drawers filled with parental permission slips for federal auditors.

Kids in the Know has also always opposed "opt-in" measures like the Miller bill, favoring "opt-out" requirements and being open to the idea of requiring notification. A parental-consent bill, even one restricted to schools, sets a dangerous precedent.