MontanaHB 63169th Legislature, Regular Session (2025)House

Revise student online protection laws related to postsecondary opportunities

Sponsored By: Curtis Schomer (Republican)

Signed by Governor

Education - K-12Education - Technical and TradesPrivacyEducation - Post-SecondaryInformation Technology

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.

Stronger protection for student data online

The law defines what counts as protected student information in K-12 online apps. It covers names, addresses, contact info, discipline and test records, special education data, health and criminal records, and Social Security numbers. It also covers biometrics, disability and socioeconomic info, food purchases, political or religious views, texts and documents, identifiers and browsing activity, photos, voice, and location. Schools and app operators must treat this data as protected when collected or shared through K-12 apps.

K-12 app rules skip dual-credit, work-based courses

Courses for postsecondary credit and work-based learning courses under 20-7-1510 are not K-12 school purposes. For those classes, the K-12 online app rules in 20-7-1323 to 20-7-1326 do not apply. Schools, partners, and app providers may use different privacy terms in those courses.

Rules for using deidentified student data

Deidentified or aggregated student data is not a pupil record. Third parties can use deidentified data to improve learning tools, personalize learning, show results in marketing, or build or improve educational apps. Schools and app makers must make sure the data cannot identify a specific student.

Who must follow K-12 app rules

An operator is any provider that knows or should know its app is used mainly for K-12 school purposes. Those operators must follow the K-12 online application rules in 20-7-1323 through 20-7-1326. App makers and school districts must check how an app is used.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Curtis Schomer
Republican • House

Cosponsors

Russ Tempel
Republican • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 283 • No: 14

Senate vote • 4/15/2025

Do Concur

Yes: 50 • No: 0

Senate vote • 4/14/2025

Do Concur

Yes: 35 • No: 14

House vote • 3/7/2025

Do Pass

Yes: 99 • No: 0

House vote • 3/5/2025