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June 2, 2015 – Levette Williams has been appointed Chief Privacy Officer of the Georgia Department of Education, State School Superintendent Richard Woods announced today.

As Chief Privacy Officer, Williams – who has been with the GaDOE since 2000 – will ensure the protection of student privacy as schools continue to adopt and utilize technology and social media in the classroom.

“Protecting student privacy is an immediate priority for my administration,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “As innovations in classroom technology continue, even greater attention to the protection of student data is necessary. I want parents to send their children to school in Georgia knowing full well that student information is entirely private and secure. Ms. Williams has a strong background in data security and I know she will do an excellent job working with K-12 stakeholders to ensure that we have policies and procedures in place to protect our students’ privacy.”

Amid national and statewide concerns that student privacy may be at risk, Georgia legislators took steps to enact new legislation to ensure the protection of student privacy. This legislative activity resulted in the passage of House Bill 414, the Student Data, Privacy, Accessibility and Transparency Act. This new law calls on the GaDOE to ensure the protection of student privacy via policies and procedures, including the appointment of a Chief Privacy Officer to develop, implement, and communicate those new policies.

Williams currently serves as Technology Management Director for the GaDOE, and has overseen the collection and reporting of K-12 data for the agency since 2000. She began her career in data reporting at a school district within the Florida Department of Education. Williams has presented to a wide variety of audiences on the subjects of data privacy and ethics, and has worked closely with the National Center of Education (NCES) where she is currently a member of the Policies, Programs, and Implementation Committee. As a member of that committee, she chaired the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Toolkit Action Plan Team, which produced the Forum Guide to the Privacy of Student Information: A Resource for Schools. A copy of this guide was distributed to every Georgia public school to ensure that all data stewards understood the significance of student data privacy and FERPA.