WORCESTER—Worcester Public Schools officials said Feb. 3 that the district does not have the legal authority to allow parents to opt students out of instructional technology.
That determination led the school committee’s Standing Committee on Teaching, Learning and Student Success to file — rather than advance — two citizen petitions seeking stricter parental consent requirements for student data use.
After hearing testimony from residents, administrators and the district’s attorney, committee members concluded that Worcester Public Schools cannot implement policy changes requiring explicit parental consent for student exposure to instructional programs, including artificial intelligence-based tools, because state regulations do not permit opt-outs for curriculum-related technology.
The petitions, filed in July by Worcester resident Aislinn Doyle, a grant writer, fundraiser and education advocate, called for policy changes requiring explicit parental consent when third-party services contracted by the district use student data to train or develop artificial intelligence or collect information such as audio recordings, photographs or video that could be considered biometric identifiers.
During public comment, Doyle raised concerns about the collection of biometric data and what she described as a lack of parental oversight when decisions are made involving sensitive student information.
“What I’m asking for is clarity around procedures and oversight. If the district decided tomorrow to introduce a system that requires fingerprints to get on a bus or log into a Chromebook, what would the approval process look like?” Doyle said. “Right now, it appears decisions involving sensitive biometric data can be made without family notification or school committee oversight and that is concerning.”
Deputy Superintendent Marie Morse responded by emphasizing the district’s approach to student data security and privacy.
“The privacy of our students is of the utmost concern for the district,” Morse said. “The technology we use in schools is a powerful tool for learning, but it must be managed responsibly as we have talked about tonight. The core of our discussion is of critical concern and importance, and protecting our student data is not just a policy matter; it’s a shared value that we both have.”
Marco Andrade, the district’s director of research and accountability, outlined Worcester Public Schools’ participation in the Student Data Privacy Consortium, which the district joined in 2019. He said the district uses national data privacy agreements to define the legal responsibilities of both the school system and third-party vendors in compliance with federal law.
According to Andrade, all student data collected through district-approved platforms remains the property of the public schools, not the vendors, including companies using artificial intelligence. He said the district can require data to be deleted at any time and that vendors are prohibited from reidentifying students or selling data for advertising purposes. Andrade added that the agreements allow de-identified data to be used for research and development purposes aimed at improving educational services and applications.
Andrade also said the district retains the authority to reject partnerships with third-party providers. A publicly accessible list of products approved or declined by the district, along with associated privacy policies, is included in the school handbook. The Worcester Guardian confirmed that the link appears in the “Student Records” section.
During committee discussion, member Vanessa Alvarez said the district’s existing data privacy agreements were “strong” but argued the issue centered on communication and parental awareness. She noted that the agreements are negotiated between the district and vendors without direct family input and introduced a motion calling for the administration to review and update policies to require explicit informed parental or guardian consent for third-party providers to collect, store or process student data and biometric identifiers.
Member Maureen Binienda opposed the motion, saying the petitions conflicted with state rules governing student participation in school programs and could interfere with curriculum implementation. She sought guidance from district attorney Paige Tobin, who confirmed that state regulations permit student opt-outs only for sexual education courses.
Following that legal clarification, Binienda and committee chair Alex Guardiola voted against Alvarez’s motion. The committee instead voted to file the petitions, a procedural action that closes the matter without advancing the proposed policy changes.
While acknowledging that the outcome may not satisfy petitioners, Guardiola said the discussion would continue as technology and artificial intelligence evolve.
“We obviously know that children can’t give consent. It’s on our parents to be able to give consent, but there are some rules and that’s why we had attorney Tobin here to speak on some of the laws that are surrounding this,” Guardiola said. “Worcester Public Schools, in my view, are doing everything they’re supposed to be doing under the rules that are set. I think they’re doing a great job.”
Jason Bleau can be reached at bleau.jason@yahoo.com
