Utah parents push for stronger Data Privacy Agreements and enforcement after audit findings

Presenters at the forum described Utah's Data Privacy Agreement (DPA) framework and said they are pushing for stronger statewide standards and enforcement. "Utah actually got on top of this before a lot of other states and they created something called a data privacy agreement," Liz Vitale said, but she added that an independent review found that many popular classroom apps do not comply with those agreements.

Speakers outlined two bills discussed in the recent legislative session: one (described as the "balance act") would limit hardware use by age and create opt‑out options for high schoolers; a second measure would require evidence of software effectiveness and a statewide DPA with audits and reporting mechanisms. Presenters said some enforcement tools (attorney general authority to bring cases, clear contract termination for DPA breaches) were not fully enacted and will be reintroduced in 2027.