Does Zoom threaten student privacy? Colorado State Board wants a legal ruling

Chalkbeat Colorado: As Colorado schools prepare for the possibility that some remote learning will continue into the fall, the State Board of Education is seeking a legal opinion on whether the online meeting platform Zoom complies with state and federal student privacy law.

The State Board has a long history of bipartisan support for protecting student data privacy, so much so that some education advocates say Colorado has made it too hard to know how well different groups of students perform on state tests. The State Board voted unanimously at its Wednesday meeting to ask the Colorado Attorney General’s Office to weigh in on whether and under what terms school districts should use Zoom for remote learning.

Zoom saw a surge in users as employers, educational institutions, and even family meetings moved online amid widespread closures to slow the spread of coronavirus. It’s easy to use, and there’s a free version of the software. But that growth brought with it a host of concerns, including what data Zoom might store about users and the ability of hackers to “Zoombomb” meetings with inappropriate images and streams.

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