College Board settles with New York over alleged sale of students' personal data

The College Board on Tuesday agreed to a settlement with New York over state claims that the organization sold the personal data of students to colleges.

Under the settlement, the College Board agreed to pay $750,000 in restitution and accept a ban on monetizing the personal data of New York students obtained through contracts with schools, The Hill reported. The College Board administers the SATs, the PSATs, and AP exams. The state alleged that the College Board sold the data to colleges and other organizations.

New York Attorney General Letitia James's office conducted the investigation, which found that the College Board solicitated students to participate in an optional survey during exams in which they were asked about their grades and college preferences, WHAM reported. The investigation further found that the College Board licensed that data to colleges and scholarship organizations as well as used it for improper marking purposes.

"Students have more than enough to be stressed about when they take college entrance exams, and shouldn’t have to worry about their personal information being bought and sold," James said. "New York law requires organizations like College Board to protect the data they collect from students when they take their exams in school, not sell it to customers for a profit."

The College Board allegedly licensed New York student data to more than 1,000 organizations between 2018 and 2022, per WHAM. It did not admit to or deny any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, according to Reuters, though it disputed James' interpretation of state law.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.