Senator Ted Kennedy On National Student Loan Data System

By admin - Posted on May 4th, 2007

May 2, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) will resume, with added safeguards in place. The database was shut down several weeks ago, after the urging of Chairman Kennedy.

Chairman Kennedy said, “I'm pleased by the Secretary's quick response to concerns about the security of the National Student Loan Data System and I'm cautiously optimistic that the steps taken by the Department of Education will make the system more secure and prevent further instances of data-mining. I remain concerned, however, by the Department's inadequate efforts to address security concerns until recently. Students and families deserve a more detailed explanation from the Department of Education about why this problem persisted for so long."

Kennedy’s letter to Secretary Spellings is included below as well.

April 15, 2007

The Honorable Margaret Spellings
Secretary
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 7W301
Washington, DC 20202

Dear Secretary Spellings:

I am deeply concerned by recent reports that private lenders are using the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) to search and retrieve confidential personal information about student borrowers without their permission. More disturbing is the fact that lenders are apparently using this information to aggressively market to students. The privacy of every borrower must be a top priority for the Department. Until the security of the database can be ensured, I urge you to block the use of the database by private lenders.

Please also provide me with any documents generated from 2002 to the present, including investigative reports, correspondence, e-mails, and memoranda, related to breaches in security in the NSLDS. In addition, please submit any available information from this period regarding the Department of Education’s attempts to stop the inappropriate use of the information in the database and enforcement actions taken against those inappropriately using the database.

If there are any questions, Nick Bath on my staff would be pleased to work with your staff. He can be reached at (202) 224-6912. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Edward M. Kennedy
Chairman

Source: Senator Ted Kennedy

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