Big Brother: Meet the Parents

Moms and dads from across the political spectrum have mobilized into an unexpected political force in recent months to fight the data mining of their children.

In a frenzy of activity, they’ve catapulted student privacy -- issue that was barely on anyone’s radar up until now -- to prominence in statehouses from New York to Florida to Wyoming.

Now, parents are rallying against another perceived threat: huge state databases being built to track children for more than two decades, from as early as infancy through the start of their careers. Promoted by the Obama Administration, the databases are being built in nearly every state at a total cost of well over $1 billion. They are intended to store intimate details on tens of millions of children and young adults -- identified by name, birth date, address and even, in some cases, Social Security number -- to help officials pinpoint the education system’s strengths and weaknesses and craft public policy accordingly.

“Every parent I’ve talked to has been horrified,” said Leonie Haimson, a New York mother who is organizing a national Parent Coalition for Student Privacy. “We just don’t want our kids tracked from cradle to grave.” Eager to support technological innovation and wary of new regulations, Congress has taken little notice of parent concerns. But state legislators have raced to respond. Since January, 14 states have enacted stricter student privacy protections, often with overwhelming bipartisan support, and more are likely on the way.