New Arizona law affirms parental rights, protects student privacy

Arizona has passed a new law that gives parents more control over their child’s private information.

Before the law passed, public schools didn’t even need to tell parents they were releasing student information, according to Christopher Thomas, director of legal strategy for education policy at the Goldwater Institute, which crafted the legislation.

“But now, Arizona has enacted a new Goldwater Institute law empowering parents to safeguard their children’s private information by requiring affirmative parental consent before schools release student data,” Thomas wrote in a press statement. 

HB 2514 sailed through the Arizona Legislature and was signed by the governor on April 18.  

According to the new statute, schools are no longer allowed to release a student’s “directory information” without informing the parent (or a student older than 18) of: 

• The type of information being released; 
• The right to refuse the release of the information; 
• And the timeframe for opting out. 

Directory information can include a student’s mailing address, phone number, email address, date and place of birth, participation in extracurriculars and attendance record.  

Student privacy matters not only because it protects children from bad actors but also because of its role in the broad push for parental rights in education.  

Since the pandemic, many parents have been fighting against school policies they feel undermine their authority.  

These include parental access to curriculum, the ability to opt out of sex education or LGBT-related lessons, and the requirement for parental notification if a child is experiencing gender dysphoria. 

Long-standing judicial precedent also upholds parental rights, particularly in the realm of education.  

In the 1923 Supreme Court case Meyer v. Nebraska, a teacher at a German school was criminally convicted for teaching German despite a state law that prohibited teaching any language besides English.  

However, the Supreme Court ruled not only that Nebraska’s law was unconstitutional, but also that parents have the right to control the upbringing of their child, which includes directing their education.