Two California parents have filed a lawsuit against Curriculum Associates, the maker of the i-Ready platform, alleging the software illegally tracks and shares student data. The case highlights a growing conflict between school technology vendors and parental consent. As school districts rely more on digital diagnostics, families are demanding to know what happens to their children's data.
What Happened
According to the original story published by Asatu News, plaintiffs Lila Byock and Nicki Petrossi claim the platform harvests sensitive student data, including race, gender, disability status, and response times, and shares it with third parties for commercial optimization. The parents argue they were never notified about these tracking practices, finding themselves in a situation we previously covered where school-wide internet permissions are treated as blanket consent for deep data profiling. Curriculum Associates denies the claims, stating they disclose data practices to school districts to secure consent. The lawsuit, however, alleges this fails the federal standard for direct parental notification.
This dispute comes during massive public spending on classroom technology. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) alone signed a $20 million contract with Curriculum Associates in 2023, part of a broader $1.6 billion allocated to edtech companies since 2022. This spending has faced scrutiny, particularly after LAUSD's superintendent was placed on leave following an FBI raid linked to chatbot provider AllHere, as detailed in our ongoing coverage of school consent gaps.
The Bigger Picture
The lawsuit centers on a gap between two federal privacy laws. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), schools can legally share student records with software vendors by designating them as "school officials," as explained by Promise Legal's guide on school official exceptions. However, this does not bypass the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). According to Beni Education's analysis of COPPA rules, school consent is only valid if the data is used strictly for educational purposes. If a vendor uses student data for product optimization or commercial tracking, they are legally required to obtain separate, verifiable parental consent via a direct notice sent straight to parents.
While school districts defend i-Ready as a necessary diagnostic tool, state regulators and educational researchers have raised questions about its actual efficacy. In December 2024, California’s reading selection panel omitted i-Ready from its list of approved early reading screeners, and the Michigan Department of Education officially rejected the tool for failing to meet state literacy standards. A line-by-line state review showed that i-Ready scored only 50% on Michigan's K-3 assessment criteria, failing key sections like phonemic awareness due to its multiple-choice format. Educational researchers also note that only one academic study has ever been published evaluating i-Ready’s diagnostic quality, leaving little independent proof to support its widespread classroom use.
Traditional adaptive software often fails to serve neurodivergent students. Studies published in the International Journal on Emerging Research Areas indicate that standard digital tools lack the cognitive flexibility needed for autistic learners, often prioritizing generic content delivery over actual behavioral and clinical support. While researchers are experimenting with reinforcement learning models to auto-adapt to diverse learners, current classroom implementations of adaptive software often require teachers to make manual workarounds to accommodate special needs.
What This Means for Families
For parents, this case shows how easily student privacy can be bypassed for classroom convenience. Children are routinely required to spend 45 minutes weekly per subject on adaptive software, while their demographics, disability status, and test behaviors are logged into corporate profiles without direct parental notification. Parents are left with little choice but to sign generic school technology waivers that vendors use to claim compliance.
What You Can Do
To protect your child's privacy, you can request copies of your school district's data processing agreements to see if they have legally designated edtech vendors as "school officials" under FERPA guidelines. You can also ask your school or the vendor to provide the legally required direct notice explaining exactly what student data is being collected and where it is shared. If you want to opt your child out of digital diagnostic sessions, ask their teacher for paper-and-pencil alternatives.