{"id":2637975,"date":"2026-07-30T16:59:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignthe-college-transparency-act-is-another-form-of-big-government-surveillance\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T17:08:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:08:52","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignthe-college-transparency-act-is-another-form-of-big-government-surveillance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignthe-college-transparency-act-is-another-form-of-big-government-surveillance\/","title":{"rendered":"The College Transparency Act Is Big Government Surveillance"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignthe-college-transparency-act-is-another-form-of-big-government-surveillance%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2637975&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dei-disaster-petition-circulating-within-secret-service-community-warns-of-potential-insider-threats\/\" title=\"DEI Crisis: Secret Service Petition Raises Concerns About &#039;Insider Threats\">article discusses concerns raised<\/a> by the conservative group Concerned Women for America (CWA) regarding the proposed College Openness Act (SB 2511). CWA argues that the bill would enable the federal government to create a database that tracks personally identifiable information of college students, both during and after their education, violating existing federal laws like Section 134 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which prohibits such data collection. Critics, including CWA president Penny Nance, contend that this amounts to mass surveillance, infringing on students&#8217; privacy rights and increasing government overreach. The bill aims to improve transparency around federal aid and provide better information for prospective students, but opponents warn it coudl lead to misuse of data and heightened vulnerability to abuse by government or foreign entities. The bill currently has bipartisan sponsorship and is pending in a Senate committee.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/black-and-gray-camera-stand-a40akJxBhT8\">Milan Malkomes \/ Unsplash<\/a>        <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/30\/the-college-transparency-act-is-another-form-of-big-government-surveillance\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=The College Transparency Act Is Another Form Of Big Government Surveillance&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/30\/the-college-transparency-act-is-another-form-of-big-government-surveillance\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=The College Transparency Act Is Another Form Of Big Government Surveillance&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/30\/the-college-transparency-act-is-another-form-of-big-government-surveillance\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/30\/the-college-transparency-act-is-another-form-of-big-government-surveillance\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=The College Transparency Act Is Another Form Of Big Government Surveillance&#038;body=The CTA is fundamentally antithetical to Americans\u2019 reasonable expectation that the federal government shouldn&#039;t track their life choices%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/30\/the-college-transparency-act-is-another-form-of-big-government-surveillance\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;The College Transparency Act Is Another Form Of Big Government Surveillance&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Conservative advocacy group Concerned Women for America (CWA) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CWforA\/status\/2082516960173048109?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sent a letter<\/a> to the U.S. Senate on July 28 urging members of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to vote against <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/US\/text\/SB2511\/2025\">SB 2511, or the College Tr<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/US\/text\/SB2511\/2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/US\/text\/SB2511\/2025\">nsparency Act (CTA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe CTA is fundamentally antithetical to Americans\u2019 reasonable expectation that the federal government is not tracking their life choices,\u201d CWA President Penny Nance said in the letter.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2000290442\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"hZanSc5xzb8WN7o6MmUB1LvyHQle39fIDitYXdsFGR\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">S.2511, the so-called &#8220;College Transparency Act&#8221; amounts to nothing less than mass surveillance of college students. <\/p>\n<p>Working AGAINST <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WhiteHouse<\/a> efforts to reduce federal involvement in education, the CTA would create a data collection system that stores the personal\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Sto4dGJgno\">pic.twitter.com\/Sto4dGJgno<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Concerned Women for America LAC (@CWforA) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CWforA\/status\/2082516960173048109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 29, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bill, which is pending in the committee, states it aims to create a college student federal database to bring transparency to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/US\/text\/SB2511\/2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">federal aid<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/US\/text\/SB2511\/2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">provide accurate \u2026 information for students and families making decisions about postsecondary education<\/a>.\u201d But CWA believes it \u201ctramples on the privacy rights of every American college student\u201d by enabling the federal government to collect private data on college-educated American citizens while attending university and for years after they leave post-secondary education.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Current federal law states that the kind of database SB 2511 creates is illegal, the letter says, because it invades personal privacy rights. The letter notes that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/COMPS-765\/pdf\/COMPS-765.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sec. 134 of the Higher Education Act of 1965<\/a> has specifically prohibited:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">the development, implementation, or maintenance of a Federal database of personally identifiable information on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/upstate-motel-kicks-out-guests-after-nyc-moves-migrants-in\/\" title=\"Upstate motel evicts guests due to NYC&#039;s migrant relocation.\">individuals receiving assistance<\/a> under this chapter, attending institutions receiving assistance under this chapter, or otherwise involved in any studies or other collections of data under this chapter, including a student unit record system, an education bar code system, or any other system that tracks individual students over time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SB 2511 would repeal this section, even though the bill also states it will \u201censure data privacy and security is consistent with any relevant Federal law relating to privacy or data security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CWA warns that the act will allow the government to \u201ccontinue to track students after graduation and as they begin their careers, with no opportunity at any point to opt in or out, and with no ability to know what information the database has stored.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The College Transparency Act does not specify the specific information it would collect, stating that, among tracking data on race, age, gender, income, and major, it will track \u201cother data elements that are necessary in accordance with\u201d an earlier clause that allows the gathering of \u201cadditional data elements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students\u2019 information will also be shared with other federal agencies \u2014 including the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of War, and the Census Bureau \u2014 according to section 3 of the bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFederal databases are ripe for abuse. Not only do they make Americans vulnerable to the abuses of government overreach and a mismanaged bureaucracy, but they can also be used by foreign adversaries,\u201d Nance wrote in the letter, referring to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4653731\/how-china-stole-voter-registration-220-million-us-citizens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >recently declassified information purportedly showing<\/a> how China accessed 220 million U.S. voter files<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A mesh of 14 Republican and 12 Democrat senators are sponsoring the bill that increases government surveillance \u201cat a time when the Trump Administration is, rightfully, seeking to decrease federal involvement in education,\u201d Nance states in the letter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CWA recognizes that higher education needs \u201ccolleges to be more transparent in their operations,\u201d but \u201cthe CTA wants to make students\u2019 information transparent to colleges, not colleges transparent to the public. Exploiting postsecondary students with a database that will track their personal information for years, even decades, beyond college is the wrong answer,\u201d the letter says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Hannah Bates<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/hannahbates\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/big-goverment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">big goverment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/collecting-data\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">collecting data<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/college-education\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">college education<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/college-transparency-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">College Transparency Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/concerned-women-for-america\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Concerned Women for America<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/federal-law\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">federal law<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/government-overreach\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">government overreach<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/letter\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Letter<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/penny-nance\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Penny Nance<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/personal-privacy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">personal privacy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/post-secondary-education\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">post secondary education<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/privacy-violations\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">privacy violations<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/senate\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Senate<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/senate-committee-on-health-education-labor-pensions\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Senate Committee on Health Education Labor Pensions<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/surveillance\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">surveillance<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Trump Administration<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CWA Opposes Senate Bill 2511 Over Privacy Concerns<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4304,"featured_media":2637976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/milan-malkomes-a40akJxBhT8-unsplash-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5045,4762,4325,14429,12404],"class_list":["post-2637975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-government","tag-legislation","tag-privacy","tag-surveillance","tag-transparency"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/milan-malkomes-a40akJxBhT8-unsplash-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4304"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2637975"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2637983,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637975\/revisions\/2637983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2637976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2637975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2637975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2637975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}