Assumed Consent: When Fine Print Sells Out Your Child’s Privacy

A small change in the default—shifting from opt-out to opt-in—marks a big step toward protecting your child’s personal information from being sold without your knowledge.

Every school year, parents are buried in a blizzard of consent forms—medical releases, media waivers, technology agreements—most of which go unread in the rush to get kids back in class. Buried in the fine print is a decades-old policy that allowed schools to quietly hand over students' personal information to outside vendors—unless parents knew to opt …