Cybersecurity Policy Report, Student Privacy Legislation Introduced in House, Senate, (Sep 17, 2026)

By Tony Foley

Companion bills introduced yesterday by Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) and Rep. Mary Miller (R., Ill.) would establish the Student Voter Data Protection Act, a measure they said would “safeguard the personal data of college students from being exploited for partisan voter registration efforts.”

The bills (S.B. 5408 and H.R. 10449, 119th Cong. (2026)) would amend the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to explicitly prohibit private student data from being shared for voter registration efforts without the written consent of the student. It also would ban federal funding for any post-secondary educational institutions that disclose student voter data in violation of the prohibition.

In a press release announcing the bills, Sen. Lee said that colleges and universities had participated in the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE), which he said compelled institutions to hand over student’s FERPA-protected data. Sen. Lee contended that this data was then shared through the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) with third-party voter processing companies. He further alleged that these companies subsequently matched student information with voter databases.

"Partisan organizations should not have access to college students' personal data under the guise of civic engagement," Sen. Lee said. "Our bill closes the loopholes that allow institutions to disregard the consent of their students. If leftist groups want a student’s info for electioneering, they can do it the old-fashioned way: standing on campus with a clipboard."

"The Student Voter Data Protection Act puts a hard stop to left-wing data harvesting, making student data strictly opt-in and cutting off the pipeline to non-consensual personal information,” added Rep. Miller. “I am proud to lead this effort in the House alongside Senator Mike Lee to stand up for our students' basic privacy rights."

The bills have been referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the House Education and Workforce Committee, respectively.

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