Legislation Protects Students' Personal Information

COLUMBUS—Today, the Ohio House of Representatives voted to protect the personal information of minors who are passengers on a school bus that is involved in a traffic accident.

House Bill 8, sponsored by State Representatives Stephen Hambley (R-Brunswick) and Jeff Rezabek (R-Clayton), would protect certain personal information pertaining to a minor who was an occupant on a school bus at the time it was involved in a traffic accident. Police reports would still include this data, but the minor’s information must be redacted when releasing the police report on the incident. State and federal law currently protects this information when the child is on school property, however it does not protect certain information when it relates to school transportation. 

“Thanks to the input from my constituents and local school boards, House Bill 8 takes another step to protect our children,” said Hambley. “Next school year is just around the corner. Passing House Bill 8 is pertinent to protecting children’s records next year, and for years to come.”

“I want to thank Representative Hambley for his work on this commonsense piece of legislation,” Rezabek said. “Protecting our children is extremely vital and this bill attempts to do just that.”

The issue was brought forward by a constituent in Rep. Hambley’s district in which a child was a passenger on a school bus that was involved in a traffic accident. Following the incident, the child’s personal information, such as birthdate, home address and phone number, was made public.

According to information provided by the Ohio Department of Public Safety, for years 2014 and 2015, more than 1,500 school buses were involved in accidents annually. This bill would work to protect the personal information of Ohio’s children who, through no fault of their own, are involved in a school bus accident and their privacy is at risk. 

House Bill 8, which is a Buckeye Pathway bill, will now go to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.