Epstein, Mosley, Miller MG, Simon, Gottfried, Rosenthal L, Reyes, Otis, Simotas, Quart, Kim,
Rodriguez, Fahy, Abinanti, Weprin, Ortiz, Colton
 
MLTSPNSR
Braunstein, De La Rosa, Nolan
 
Add §2-e, Ed L
 
Directs the commissioner of education to conduct a study on the use of biometric identifying technology; prohibits the use of biometric identifying technology in schools until July 1, 2022 or until the commissioner authorizes such purchase or utilization, whichever occurs later.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A6787D
SPONSOR: Wallace
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to the use of biometric
identifying technology
 
PURPOSE OF BILL:
This bill will authorize the Commissioner of Education to study and
report on the use of biometric identifying technology on school grounds
in order to create a comprehensive', unified statewide regulatory system
governing the use of such technology in schools.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends education law to add a new section 2-E regarding the
use of biometric identifying technology on school grounds. It directs
the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the department's
chief privacy officer, to study and make recommendations on whether the
use of biometric identifying technology, including facial recognition,
is appropriate for use in public and nonpublic elementary and secondary
schools. If deemed appropriate, the Commissioner will identify what
restrictions and guidelines to enact. It further identifies specific
considerations to be addressed by the Commissioner, requires the Commis-
sioner to seek feedback from individuals with expertise in school safe-
ty, security, and data and student privacy issues before making their
recommendations and prohibits schools from purchasing and utilizing
biometric identifying technology, until the later of July 1, 2022 or the
authorization for such purchase or use is issued pursuant to this bill.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Increasingly, school districts in New York are seeking to use public
funds for the installation and use of facial recognition software. The
intended use of the software is to screen students, families, and others
as they enter a school. Some school districts also intend to rely on the
software for student discipline. The safety of New York State students
is a paramount consideration for all lawmakers. But before spending
millions of dollars on technology that may not make our children signif-
icantly safer than alternative less-costly forms of security, it is
incumbent upon us to study the risks and benefits of using this still-e-
volving form of technology. Considerations include the privacy impli-
cations of collecting, storing and sharing biometric data of students
and others; the reliability of the technology as a whole and whether
reliability differs for different classifications of individuals based
on race, national origin, gender, and age (as some studies suggest);
whether use shall be limited to security and the effectiveness of the
technology to protect students and school personnel; whether, and under
what circumstances, information collected may be used by schools and
shared with students, parents or guardians, outside agencies, individ-
uals, litigants and the courts; the risk of unauthorized breach of biom-
etric data and consequences therefor; the expected maintenance costs to
be borne by local districts, including the cost of appropriately secur-
ing sensitive data, performing required updates to protect against unau-
thorized breach of data, and potential costs associated with an unau-
thorized breach of data; analysis of others schools and organizations
that have implemented facial recognition and other biometric record
software programs; whether the use of such technology should be
disclosed in schools and communicated to parents, students and district
residents; and legislation that may be needed to ensure that records of
the use of the technology are kept, privacy interests are protected, and
data breaches are avoided.
If it is ultimately decided that the benefits of this technology
outweigh any risks to privacy and data security, the bill requires the
Commissioner to provide restrictions and guidelines to enact to protect
individual privacy interests and mitigate any possible risks and dangers
associated with use.
The need for caution with regard to this technology has been widely
recognized. National news organizations, security experts, and the soft-
ware providers themselves have identified the need for regulation of
technology that has "broad social ramifications and the potential for
abuse." The security of biometric data, like facial recognition, is of
grave concern given the permanency of those identifiers. As the U.S.
Government Accountability Office has recognized, biometric data cannot
be altered in the event of a breach. A person's immutable character-
istics are permanent and must be heavily guarded. To allow the use of a
system storing highly sensitive data with no regulations for the stand-
ard of care to be taken in doing so would be highly irresponsible.
Indeed, three states, Illinois, Texas and Washington, have already
created laws to address the collection and security of biometric data.
This bill will direct the Commissioner of Education to thoroughly study
this issue of facial recognition software in schools and recommend a
course of action. It is essential to do our due diligence to ensure
there is a uniform, comprehensive regulatory scheme in place before
moving forward in permitting New York schools to use this highly contro-
versial software.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.