Parents and privacy experts are blasting a new national database that compiles personal student information for educational companies that contract with public schools.
New York State officials, working with the city, have already uploaded students' names, addresses, test scores, learning disabilities, attendance and disciplinary records into the inBloom database, according to the Daily News.
Educational companies can use the data to create teaching tools for students.
Parents told the News they were furious.
"I'm outraged," said Karen Sprowal, 52, who has a 9-year-old son. "I send my child to school to be educated. I never agreed to have his information shared with private companies or stored in a database."
State Education Department officials say no data will ever be sold. And the chief academic officer for the city DOE told the News that the database is only available to companies that the city hires.
The New York Civil Liberties Union blasted the city for failing to disclose the plan to the public or offer parents a chance to opt out.
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Public Advocate Bill de Blasio protested the move in a letter to city and state officials.
"I don't want my kids' privacy bought and sold like this," de Blasio wrote.
