Computer science education reform is going to come in fits and starts working on issues from the top down (national media, federal policy, etc.) and the bottom up (in schools, districts, states, etc.). This week the “top down” piece got a nice boost from Congress by passing a resolution designating the week of December 7 (in honor of Grace Hopper’s birthday) as Computer Science Education Week. This gives the community a wonderful platform to highlight the importance of computing to society and why we need to strengthen CS education – particularly at the K-12 level.
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Below is a list of items with policy relevance from the October issue of Communications of the ACM. As always, much of the material in CACM is premium content, and free content one month may slip behind a pay wall the next. You need to be a member of ACM or a subscriber to CACM to access premium content online.

News

Debating Net Neutrality, Alan Joch

A review of the different concerns and interests engaged in the debate over network neutrality - the idea that Internet users should be able to access any Web content or use any applications without restrictions or other constraints from their service provider.

CONTENTS

[1] Newsletter Highlights
[2] ACM Argues for Computer Science Education in Kansas
[3] FCC Chairman Plans to Create Net Neutrality Rules
[4] House Committee Approves Two Technology Bills
[5] Cybersecurity Research Legislation Approved by Subcommittee
[6] Article Explores the Long Road to Computer Science Education Reform
[7] USACM Releases FY2009 Annual Report
[8] USACM Member Presents on Human-Computer Interaction Research and Policy
[9] About USACM

[An archive of all previous editions of Washington Update is available at
http://www.acm.org/usacm/update/]
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November 17

Hearing:

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on cybersecurity, with an emphasis on fighting terrorism and protecting privacy.
10 a.m., 226 Dirksen Building

November 18

Markup:

The House Science and Technology Committee will review pending legislation on cybersecurity research, development, and standards.
10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Building

November 19

Hearing:

The Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will meet on the collection and use of consumer information.
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Building

In a markup session yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved two bills on the protection of consumer data. S 1490, the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2009, takes a number of steps to increase the penalties for identity theft and to require data brokers take additional measures to protect the information they handle. The additional steps start with implementing data privacy and security programs for databases with sensitive personal information. Data brokers would be required to disclose to an individual information that the broker has on that individual. Brokers must also maintain procedures for individuals to correct inaccuracies in this information. The bill also requires the Federal Trade Commission, the General Services Administration, and the U.S. Sentencing Commission make changes to their policies to reflect the standards and procedures described in this act. For example, the bill makes it a crime to intentionally or willfully conceal a security breach involving personal data.

The bill’s data breach notification provisions come from a separate bill the committee approved, S 139, the Data Breach Notification Act. Any federal agency or business entity that uses, accesses, or collects sensitive personally identifiable information must notify in the event of a data breach: any U.S. resident whose information was accessed or taken; and any third party that has access or control of that information. Under special circumstances other agencies would be notified as well. The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved data privacy and breach notification legislation before, and it failed to reach the Senate floor. With the number of records exposed by data breaches continuing to grow, it would be nice to see this legislation advance further in the process.

November 4

Markup:
The Technology and Innovation Subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee will review the Cybersecurity Coordination and Awareness Act, a piece of draft legislation.
10:30 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Building

November 5

Meeting:
The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet to consider nominations and pending legislation, including bills on data breach notification and data privacy.
10 a.m., 226 Dirksen Building