Dive Brief:

• Georgia appointed its first ever chief privacy officer, Levette Williams, this week to focus on the collection and protection of student data in schools. 
• The position was created this year following the passage of student privacy legislation that prevents the sale of student data and places restrictions on what data can and cannot be collected. 
• Williams was appointed by state Superintendent Richard Woods; she has been with the Georgia Department of Education since 2000, where she also focused on privacy issues. 

Dive Insight:

Training parents, teachers, and students on how and why data is beneficial is a big goal for Williams, according to the Athens Banner-Herald, which adds that this sort of data oversight has always existed within the state Department of Education and that the legislative decree for the position is really just a follow-up step. 

Pro-data collection organizations like the Data Quality Campaign have celebrated Georgia's proactive approach to the support and training around student data use, saying that the bill is the most comprehensive among the 46 introduced in various states this year.