TOWSON, MD—Julie Henn, an elected member of the Baltimore County Board of Education, has been appointed to the re-established Maryland Student Data Privacy Council, the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) announced this week.
Henn will serve as MABE’s representative on the council, which was re-established by Senate Bill 325 and is tasked with studying the Student Data Privacy Act of 2015, examining best practices in other states, and analyzing technological developments related to student data privacy. The council will also recommend statutory and regulatory changes to the act.
“On behalf of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE), I am pleased to appoint Julie Henn to serve as MABE’s representative on the Student Data Privacy Council,” said Anne Smith, MABE Administration Director, in a statement. “Ms. Henn…brings over two decades of experience in enterprise application management and data governance across multiple levels of government and educational institutions. She has been a strong advocate for student data privacy and has supported meaningful policy development, vendor oversight, and community engagement. We are confident she will be a valuable contributor to the Council’s work.”
The council is required to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor of Maryland and the Maryland General Assembly by Dec. 1, 2025. It will meet quarterly until September 2028, with all meetings open to the public.
Henn, who represents the Fifth District, emphasized the importance of protecting student information in an increasingly digital educational landscape.
“The digitalization of curriculum and instruction carries an enormous responsibility to protect student information collected by school systems and third parties,” Henn said. “Our students and families have the right to know what personally identifiable information is collected, how it is used and by whom, and must be able to confidently rely on us to secure their confidential data. I look forward to contributing to these critical efforts to improve best practices across the state and thank MABE for the opportunity to serve.”
The Student Data Privacy Council was initially established in 2019.
Photo via BCPS
