Each state department of education provides  guidance and regulations on state education laws to each school district. Since 2000, Most States Have Enacted Laws and Proposed Legislation That Affect Commercial Activities in Schools

Since 2000, 13 states have established statutes, regulations, or both that  address one or several categories of commercial activities in schools. Six  of these states established provisions addressing market research by  restricting the use of student data for commercial activities and for  surveys. In addition, as of February 2004, at least 25  states are considering proposed legislation that would affect commercial  activities. Most of these proposals would affect product sales, particularly  the sale of food and beverages. Prior to 2000, 28 states had passed  provisions addressing commercial activities. Six states passed legislation  affecting marketing research. Only 1 state established a  measure that addressed market research. As we found earlier, most commercial activities, particularly  product sales and advertising, occurred in high schools. Districts Are Beginning to Implement Provisions on Student Data, and Few Use Student Data for Commercial Purposes

We estimate that about two-thirds of the districts in the nation were either  developing or had developed policies addressing the new provisions on  the use of student data for commercial purposes. However, only 19 of the  61 districts that provided us copies of their policies specifically addressed  these provisions. Of the 17 districts that released data for commercial purposes, all  reported that they released data only for school-related purposes. Education Developed and Disseminated Guidance, but Many Districts’ Policies Did Not Address Requirements

As required by NCLBA, Education has developed guidance and notified  every school district superintendent and chief state school officer in the  country of the new required student information protections and policies,  and has charged the Family Policy Compliance Office to hear complaints  on PPRA. Although Education is not required to issue its guidance to state school  boards associations, four districts in two states in our survey offered  unsolicited information that they relied on state school boards  associations to develop policies for their consideration and adoption. Two  districts in a third state that sent us policies used policies developed by  their state school boards association to address commercial activities in  schools. Recommendation for Executive Action

We recommend that the Secretary of Education take additional action to  assist districts in understanding that they are required to have specific  policies in place for the collection, disclosure, and use of student  information for marketing and selling purposes by disseminating its  guidance to state school boards associations. Follow-up Telephone Interviews with the Seven Districts We Visited in 2000

We conducted telephone interviews with district and school officials in the  seven districts we visited to collect information for Public Education:  Commercial Activities in Schools (GAO-00-156), a report we issued in  2000, to discern changes in commercial activities in these districts.
Why GAO Did This Study

Congress has continuing interest in commercial activities in U.S. public schools. These include product sales, advertising, market research, and the commercial use of personal data about students (such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers) by schools. To update information about commercial activities in schools, Congress asked us to answer the following questions: (1) Since 2000, what statutes and regulations have states enacted and proposed to govern commercial activities in schools? (2) To what extent have districts developed policies implementing amended provisions of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) in the No Child Left Behind Act on the use of student data for commercial purposes? (3) What guidance has the Department of Education (Education) disseminated? To answer these questions, we researched state laws, surveyed a national sample of school districts, analyzed policies provided by districts, interviewed officials at Education, and examined its guidance. In addition, we updated findings from the districts we visited in 2000.

What GAO Found

Since we reported on commercial activities in 2000, 13 states have established laws addressing commercial activities in public schools, and at least 25 states are considering such legislation. Of the states establishing new laws, 6 established laws affecting market research by addressing the use of student data for commercial activities. Almost all of the proposed bills target the sale of food and beverages. Prior to 2000, 28 states established laws addressing commercial activities, particularly product sales and advertising. At that time, only 1 state passed a provision affecting market research. PPRA provisions required districts to implement policies on the collection, disclosure, or use of student data for marketing and selling purposes, and we estimate that about two-thirds of the districts in the nation believe they are developing or have developed such policies. However, of the 61 districts that sent us policies, only 19 policies addressed these issues. No district reported having collected student data for commercial purposes. Only a few reported disclosing student information for these purposes, and all had done so for school-related purposes such as graduation pictures. Education has undertaken several activities, such as sending guidance to state education agencies and school district superintendents and posting information on its Web page, to inform districts about the student information provisions of PPRA, but many districts appear not to understand the new requirements. Some districts told us that they relied on their state school boards association to develop policies for them because state school boards associations address federal and state laws. School districts in one state sent us policies that addressed commercial activities that had been developed by their state school boards association. Education was not required to disseminate guidance to associations of local school boards in each state and has not done so.