Privacy Law Library

Student Online Personal Protection Act

Tenn. SOPPA

Students · Children

Tennessee's student-privacy law for education technology vendors. Operators of K-12 online services may not use student information for targeted advertising, build student profiles for non-school purposes, sell or rent student information, or disclose it except for listed purposes. They must keep reasonable security and delete student data when a school or district asks.

Where
Tennessee
Citation
Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-708 (2016 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 757, HB 1931)
Status
In force
In force since
2016-07-01
Enforced by
Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter (sole enforcement, as a Tennessee Consumer Protection Act violation)
People can sue
No
Penalties
Violations are unfair or deceptive acts under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, enforced solely by the Attorney General, who may seek any TCPA relief.
Applies to
  • Operators of internet websites, online services, online applications, or mobile applications with actual knowledge that the service is used primarily for K-12 school purposes and was designed and marketed for those purposes (§ 49-1-702(11)); general-audience services are excluded (§ 49-1-708(f)(3))

Practices it requires

  • Do not engage in targeted advertising based on information acquired through use of the service for K-12 school purposes.Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-708(a)(1)
  • Do not use information, including persistent identifiers, to amass a student profile except for K-12 school purposes.Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-708(a)(2)
  • Do not sell or rent students' information (acquisitions excepted if the successor complies).Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-708(a)(3)
  • Disclose covered information only for listed purposes such as school purposes, legal compliance, safety and security, or to contractors bound to use it only for the service and keep it secure.Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-708(a)(4)
  • Delete a student's covered information within a reasonable time when the school or district requests, unless the student or parent consents to keeping it.Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-708(c)(2)

Security duties

  • Implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the covered information.Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-708(c)(1)

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.

Research reference, not legal advice.