NCES and the Patriot Act: An Early Appraisal of Facts and Issues

• Activity Number: 151
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 12, 2002 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Government Statistics*
• Author(s): William Seltzer*+ and Margo Anderson
• Affiliation(s): Fordham University and University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
• Keywords: confidentiality ; ethics ; legislation ; national defense ; statistical policy

Abstract

In late October 2001 Congress passed and the President signed the "Patriot Act of 2001" as part of the nation's response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. Title V of this multifaceted legislation is labeled "Removing Obstacles to Investigating Terrorism" and includes section 508, "Disclosure of Information from NCES Surveys." This section allows the Justice Department to obtain and use for investigation and prosecution "reports, records, and information (including individually identifiable information)" in the possession of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) that had hitherto been protected by the 1994 NCES Act.

The paper reviews available information about the origins of section 508, its impact on confidentiality protections offered by NCES, and the effectiveness of NCES in communicating to respondents and the public changes in the legal protections available to NCES data providers. It also compares the present situation with some previous efforts to use protected statistical reports for similar purposes and broader issues relating to the possible misuse of statistical data systems, including the safeguards available to limit such misuses.