Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2013
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would require institutions participating in the demonstration project to provide a disclosure to students when companies can access and potentially sell students' personally identifiable information.
Students should always know when and how their personal information may be used or sold. This amendment would also allow students to opt out of any arrangement where their information could be sold, allowing them to maintain their privacy.
I have been very active on this issue of privacy in the K-12 space, where I challenged a group of industry leaders to come up with a statement of principles or a promise to parents that delineates clear language about what they are doing and not doing when it comes to housing student data.
I would certainly be pleased to work with the gentleman from Wisconsin on this issue in the higher education space as well, to ensure that we are protecting the privacy of all students.
I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for his amendment to ensure the continued protection and safety of students' personally identifiable information, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, today I am proud to rise in support of the Meng amendment.
This amendment would ensure that the Secretary of Education assesses the usability of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which we always often call FAFSA, in the business for students with limited English proficiency. Access to student aid should always be free, but the technical form is often hard to understand and complete when a student's, or particularly their parents', first language isn't English. Frankly, I have looked at the form, and it is hard enough to understand in English, Mr. Chairman, as a native speaker.
Assessing the usability of the FAFSA every decade will allow the Department of Education to adapt the changing demographics at colleges across the country. I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment so students can have better and easier access to Federal student loan aid programs for free.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source