COMING TO AN END: Looks like data warehousing platform inBloom has taken a blow from its last public state-level partner. The state of New York has ordered inBloom to stop all uploading of student data and delete any existing student data that's currently stored in the inBloom database. "As required by statute, we will not store any student data with inBloom and we have directed inBloom to securely delete the non-identifiable data that has been stored," read a statement from Dennis Tompkins, spokesman for Education Commissioner John King.
In an email to EdSurge, InBloom spokesperson Adam Graber responded:
"We respect New York State’s decision to provide additional local control, and for also addressing privacy... inBloom is pushing forward with our mission to overcome the barrier of information interoperability for the benefit of education and we remain committed to the high standards of privacy and security we have always maintained."
As for other states still in "talks" with inBloom, Massachusetts is "officially considering a contract with the nonprofit," but a state education department spokesman told Politico that it is unlikely that the state will proceed. In Illinois, individual districts may or may not participate, but the state does not upload large amounts of data.
Though inBloom has been the central target of data privacy conversations, commentator Bill Fitzgerald notes the continued reality that school/district data collection is anything but new, referring to it as a "zero-sum game." He also calls out this NY hard stop as an opportunity "for the existing players--Pearson, eScholar, Infinite Campus, Agilx, Clever, etc--to sell directly to districts and regional educational agencies."
