NEWINGTON - A new student data privacy law will keep teachers from taking full advantage of the district’s recently-implemented 1-to-1 device program, says Superintendent of Schools Bill Collins.

       House Bill 5469-An Act Concerning Student Data Privacy-requires districts to have a contract with third party software companies in order utilize apps and other programs that might supplement a curriculum. Outlined intentions of the bill-as reported in the Easton Courier in July-are to protect student data from use by third parties, establish a given school district’s ownership of the information, and provide parents with notice.

       But the legislation-which took effect on October 1-has its unintended consequences, Collins said in a phone conversation last week.

       â€�"On the surface, it sounds great, but it goes deeper,” Collins said. â€�"Anything that has the remote chance of releasing personal info, you can’t use it.”

       The district does not have contracts for any of the third party software that it uses through devices such as its IPads, Collins said.

       That promises to pose a problem for teachers, who are encouraged to implement new apps on-the-fly in order to experiment in a fluid and adaptable curriculum, Collins said.

       A contract for the district’s central software-the Power School interface-should be easy enough to obtain, but there is a multitude of other apps that Newington Public Schools would essentially be barred from using under the new legislation, he said.

       â€�"They’ve rendered the IPads pretty much useless,” he said. â€�"We have to go through the entire inventory of our software.”

       The 1-to-1 initiative, which provides IPads to every student in K-2, while supplying Chromebooks to higher grade levels, was set up through years of incremental purchases and planning, according to Collins.

       Collins said that he did not know about the bill-introduced by the Education Committee-while it was making its run through the legislative process, but he has since reached out to State Representative Gary Byron, who serves Newington but does not sit on that Committee.

       An email sent to Byron from one of the House attorneys acknowledged that the â€�"situation may need adjusting”, but the legislature can’t go back to work on it until the 2017 session.

       The memo advised educators who want to play it â€�"conservatively” to cease using any uncontracted software.

       Collins said that he wished the Committee had sought input from superintendents-particularly those from technology-driven districts such as Newington.

       A short grace period might have helped too, he said.

       â€�"It’s far-reaching, and it really sets us back,” Collins said.