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CONTACT: Matt Cardoza, GaDOE Communications Office, 404-651-7358, mcardoza@gadoe.org
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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.