In February 2024, the New York attorney general, Latitia James, issued a statement about an “Assurance of Discontinuance” agreement they had reached with the College Board. This 120-year-old New York not-for-profit corporation has a nationwide reach. In the binding settlement agreement, the College Board agreed to pay a fine of $750,000, to disgorge its ill-gotten gains, and to pay New York's legal costs. The New York attorney general's investigation showed that the College Board had violated the privacy rights of thousands of New York students by selling private data to the College Board's network of Colleges and Universities throughout the country over fifteen years. If you or your child has been the victim of the improper dissemination of their private educational information in violation of state or federal law, then contact the Education Law Team at Lento Law Firm at 888.535.3686. 

The College Board Monetized New York Students' Data 

The College Board is the company that developed the SAT, PSAT, and AP exams. Part of its business is to enroll students in these high school and college entry exams. For decades, most college-bound students have had experience with these rites of passage exams. Beginning in 2010, the College Board offered free, in-school exams to twenty high school districts in New York, including more than five hundred high schools in New York City. The College Board then disseminated private student information derived from these in-school exams. Some of this private information included a student's GPA, intended area of college study, interest in religiously affiliated colleges, ethnicity, and family income. Without notice and without student or parental consent,  the College Board licensed this private, in-school exam information to its network of more than 1,000 colleges nationwide who paid license fees through a Search program developed to monetize the private data. 

FERPA and State Law Privacy Violations 

A federal statute, The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), is designed to protect private student information throughout the United States and prevent non-consensual dissemination of private information in educational or school records. Under FERPA, a school may disclose “directory information,” which includes name, address, date of birth, honors and awards received, and dates of school attendance, without consent. However, directory information must be disclosed to parents, and a parent and eligible student must be allowed reasonable time to ask a school not to disclose their directory information. 

The Actions of the College Board Were Unfair Trade Practices  

The actions by the College Board did not fall under any exception to FERPA and were  unfair trade practices by College Board under NY law. The settlement agreement included the cessation of the monetization process used by the College Board between 2018 and 2022. FERPA violation actions are typically brought under a Civil Rights Act or section 1983 violation as their list of remedies are widely recognized.   

The Education Law Team at Lento Law Firm is ready to assist any student nationwide whose personal information has been wrongfully disclosed. Please contact us at 888.535.3686.