USPIE “DATA PERSONAL PROPERTY RIGHTS” POSITION STATEMENT
The Founders of the United States government insisted that property rights were at least as important as personal rights. In Federalist 54, James Madison stated tersely: “Government is instituted no less for the protection of the property than of the persons of individuals.”
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution is an example of the intent to restrain government and fellow citizens in this regard: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Elected officials from both political parties somehow conclude that personal information collected or seized without a warrant by the federal government belongs to the government, thereby granting government the right and obligation to integrate all personal information to make it accessible to all government agencies as well as the private sector. They attempt to justify their actions under the guise of needing citizen level data to facilitate “evidence-based decision making,” which in reality should be termed “stolen evidence-based decision making”.
USPIE views the conclusion that government owns individual, citizen data — permitting broad use and availability — as erroneous. This is a dangerous over-reach of federal power. The assumption of individual ownership of data is critical to ensure personal property protections.
For years, a false assumption suggested individual student and teacher education data belongs to the education system. Initially, the vision of “cradle-to-grave,” now known as P-20W seamless system of human capital for workforce development, drew education activists into monitoring data initiatives. Evidence shows the assumed “P” meaning “Pre-school” has become “Pre-natal,” whereby the government is collecting data on children prior to birth, through 20 years of education, and into the workforce.
It appears the government believes it now owns individual military data, IRS data, Census data, and all citizen-level data in any federal agency. One exception to this ownership assumption exists in medical data, which as defined and protected by HIPPA, belongs to the patient (or their guardian). However, medical data is “leaking” into other data streams such as education data. This blurs the lines for HIPPA protections and allows medical information to become part of the integrated, government data system.
USPIE’s primary mission is to close the U.S. Department of Education, repeal all federal education mandates and return control of education to parents and local communities. Our efforts include protecting the privacy of student data from government-directed collection, integration, and sharing. Big data is big business and America’s children are not for sale.
USPIE endeavors to help parents take advantage of independent alternatives to government schools, and to protect Data “Personal Property Rights” for the children and the family.
HOW TO HELP:
1. Share this post
2. USPIE is disseminating our official data privacy position statement December 4th. The plan is to contact as many local, state, and national radio talk shows as possible so we can request time on air to talk about this critical issue.
Please contact your local radio talk shows and ask if they would be willing to have a USPIE Leadership Team member discuss this. Communications Director April Few afew@uspie.org is happy to reach out to various radio stations if you provide:
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State
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Name of show & show host
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Phone number & email of host or contact person
Send all contact information to April Few afew@uspie.org and be sure to include all information listed above.
United States Parents Involved in Education 
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