California will now be tracking every child in the state from birth, and will share that data with politicians, analysts and activists in an alleged effort to “address disparities in opportunities and improve outcomes for all students.”
The new “Cradle to Career Data System” will collect personal data on ethnicity, economic status, education and other information through various state agencies, from schools to universities, childcare providers, state employment, health and human services programs. The state will then store it in a central location that bureaucrats, politicians and other “experts” can access to concoct new laws.
Susan Shelley, columnist for the Southern California News Group, spelled out the situation in a July Daily News editorial.
“The budget appropriates $10 million to get this party started. A new ‘Cradle to Career’ workgroup will examine how the data system could identify individuals by ‘race, ethnicity, religion, gender, military status, parents’ education and age’ and track ‘the impact of early education on student success and achievement as a student progresses through education segments and the workforce,’” Shelley wrote.
“The governor’s Office of Planning and Research is now authorized to enter into contracts with ‘planning facilitators’ who will convene advisory groups ‘comprised of representatives of students, parents, labor, business and industry, equity and social justice organizations, researchers, privacy experts, early education experts, school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education.’”
Shelley explained the initiative is part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s education agenda, but it didn’t go through the typical legislative process to become a disturbing reality. Instead, the system was slipped into a budget trailer bill that received only an up-or-down vote, with no public discussion.
“Our role begins when babies are still in the womb and it doesn’t end until we’ve done all we can to prepare them for a quality job and successful career,” Newsom told Ed Source after his primary win in the gubernatorial race last June.
The tracking system is causing a minor ripple in California, where some are speaking up about the obvious concerns with trusting government to protect precious personal data, but The Epoch Times reports the same thing has already taken root in dozens of other states with nary a peep.
“This initiative is in response to the Federal State Longitudinal Data System Grant Program, which is based on federal grants for states to develop data systems needed ‘to effectively measure the success of educational programs,’” attorney Annie Mitchell, CEO of the Institute for Social Internet Public Policy, told the Times.
“This effort has been quietly, with little-to-no fanfare, been instituted throughout the country since 2005, and 47 states are already receiving these grants (including California), (with) 37 state plus Washington D.C. already sharing their ‘cradle to workforce’ data.”
The effective allure of “free” federal tax dollars essentially trumps obvious privacy concerns, Mitchell said, because “there really can be no way to completely secure this data.”
That reality is a big concern for Reginald Mosley, who said he may remove his three children from Oakland public schools.
“I do not feel comfortable allowing my children to take part in this (data mining program),” he told the Times.
Mitchell is hoping plenty of other parents and taxpayers come to the same conclusion and speak out against the government data collection, though it’s already well established in most places.
“Up until this time nobody has been talking very publicly about it, or not sounding the alarm. (Unfortunately), there is no question of ‘not tracking them’ – this has been (in effect) in nearly all states, and while the federal government hasn’t mandated it in the sense of passing a law requiring it, it has de facto mandated it in the way that it often does: using the power of the purse,” Mitchell said.
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