SENATE BILL REPORT
SHB 1381
As Reported By Senate Committee On:
Higher Education, March 26, 2001
Title: An act relating to identification of students at institutions of higher education.
Brief Description: Requiring institutions of higher education to use personal identifiers that are not social security numbers.
Sponsors: By House Committee on Higher Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Mulliken, Rockefeller, G. Chandler, Skinner, Dunn, Lantz, Doumit, Cox, Keiser, Pearson, Schoesler, Ruderman, Schual‑Berke and Lambert).
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Higher Education: 3/22/01, 3/26/01 [DPA].
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Majority Report: Do pass as amended.
Signed by Senators Kohl‑Welles, Chair; Shin, Vice Chair; Carlson, Horn, McAuliffe, Parlette and B. Sheldon.
Staff: Casey Bui (786‑7448)
Background: Institutions of higher education use Social Security numbers as student, staff and faculty identifiers to interconnect information, including state and federal financial aid, career progress after graduation, employment services, grading and data collection for administrative planning, and status reports to various constituents.
Summary of Amended Bill: Institutions of higher education are prohibited from using the Social Security number of any student, staff or faculty for any identification purpose except for employment, financial aid, research, assessment, accountability, transcripts or as otherwise required by state or federal laws. Each institution must develop a system of personal identifiers for its students to be used for grading and other administrative purposes. This system may not include the students' Social Security numbers.
A report outlining the institutions' personal identifier systems must be submitted to the Legislature by December 1, 2001. The institutions must coordinate with the Higher Education Coordinating Board and State Board for Community and Technical Colleges in submitting this report.
No new state funds may be allocated for this bill.
Amended Bill Compared to Original Bill: The bill, as amended, covers staff and faculty in addition to students. No new state funds are allowed to be used for the provisions of this bill.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed, except Section 2 which takes effect July 1, 2002.
Testimony For: This bill is student‑driven and has strong bipartisan support. The Senate passed a companion bill similar to this one. Encouraged support for this Substitute House bill is appreciated. Re‑adding the two Senate committee amendments (including faculty and staff, and prohibiting new state funds for this bill) would be supported by WSL.
Testimony Against: None.
Testified: PRO: Representative Joyce Mulliken, Sponsor; Toni Ryan, WSL ‑ CWU chapter.