Grand Rounds Panel Explores Data Privacy in Vermont’s Early Childhood Systems

“We are all impacted by data privacy, or lack thereof, and it’s producing negative impacts, really compelling us to have this conversation today.”

—Julie Lowell, Public Assets Institute

On April 27, 2026, Building Bright Futures presented “Data Privacy in Vermont’s Early Childhood Systems: Competing Priorities, Real-World Tradeoffs.” This event was part of BBF’s Early Childhood Grand Rounds series.

The event was presented in conjunction with the 2026 policy recommendation from Vermont’s Early Childhood State Advisory Council Network to protect Vermonters’ data, as well as Vermont’s Early Childhood Strategic Plan goals for data systems that are agile, compatible, equitable, and secure.

“We know we need really strong data to know whether our investments in kids and families are working, who’s being reached, and who’s being left out—and that we need to protect the data that’s making our understanding possible,” said Dr. Morgan Crossman, Building Bright Futures Executive Director, in her introduction to the panel. “The challenge right now is that we are in a space where sometimes collecting that information can put those families at risk who are most vulnerable to harm. How do we sit in the tension of both of those things being true?…Our job is to think clearly about what those trade-offs are.”

Laws to Protect Vermonters’ Personal Data

Rep. Monique Priestly represents Vermont’s Orange-2 District in the State House and serves as Vice Chair of the House Joint Information Technology Oversight Committee. Priestly gave an overview of Vermont laws to protect data privacy and new bills being considered this session, which include the following:

• Vermont legislators are currently considering a comprehensive data privacy bill, H.211, which passed the House of Representatives and is now with the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs.
• Legislators are currently working on updating Vermont’s data broker registry, first created in 2018, to remove loopholes.
• Vermont passed an age-appropriate design code in 2025 that regulates how online services and products, such as social media and online gaming, can collect, sell, share, and keep personal information about minors.
• Vermont passed a phone-free schools law in 2025 that will go into effect in fall 2026.
• Other bills being considered this session relate to educational software/apps being used in schools and artificial intelligence.

What’s At Stake When We Talk About Privacy

Julie Lowell serves as Economic Security Policy and Outreach Director at Public Assets Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that focuses on improving the well-being of all Vermonters and advancing racial, social, and economic justice. Lowell spoke about other ways that our state has been fighting to protect Vermonters’ privacy and well-being. For example, the federal government is trying to get more access to people’s personal information, including personally identifiable data from tax returns and Medicaid records.

Vermont and other states challenged both of these data requests in court. The IRS case is ongoing, while a court allowed the Medicaid records of undocumented immigrants to be shared with the federal government.

“This most recent data sharing is so concerning because it’s being used to take people from our communities. And for those who are left here under similar circumstances, there’s so much fear and trauma that’s happening in their daily lives,” Lowell said.

“Secondarily, if people aren’t accessing needed services because they’re afraid of their data being shared, they’re losing out on resources to help their families make ends meet,” Lowell added. “And we are seeing this in practice across the country. According to a poll from KFF [a health policy nonprofit] and the New York Times, nearly a third of adult immigrants reported skipping or putting off healthcare in 2025…and this is true for other program access as well.”

Denise Reilly-Hughes is Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Digital Services and also serves as State Chief Information Officer. Reilly-Hughes spoke about several focus areas of the Agency of Digital Services:

• Reducing complexity: Helping more people get the services they need by making forms and processes (e.g. applying for benefits) easier and less complicated
• Ensuring transparency and predictability: Creating data systems that don’t sacrifice privacy, ethics, or confidentiality
• Ensuring standards: Using data privacy standards, including coordinating with the legislature and applying existing standards, such as those from the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST)
• End-user experience: Improving the experience of people who use a product or service, such as a Vermont parent who uses the state government website to apply for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP)

In terms of transparency and predictability, Reilly-Hughes said, “We need to be able to ensure that everything that we’re doing is built so that it’s known without sacrificing privacy, ethics, and all of the confidentiality for Vermonters specifically.”

Speaking about the end-user experience, Reilly-Hughes said, “This is about building services with intention, ethics, and dignity…When we are dealing with so many agencies and departments, [although] each of them are looking at Vermonters uniquely in their own spaces, they’re actually all supporting the same Vermonters. So, we want to make sure that we don’t get into situations that Julie had described where data is now under assault.”

Panel Discussion

The three panelists took part in a wide-ranging discussion, answered questions from Dr. Crossman, and opened the session up to attendees’ questions. 

Lowell noted, “An important part of this conversation is thinking about how we can expand data collection in ways that are safer…I think there’s an opportunity right now to think about alternate ways, including qualitative ways, that we can partner with data and expand safety net programs to meet the needs of folks in our community.”

The Early Childhood Grand Rounds webinar series offers a platform to share and elevate high-quality data and insights on topics impacting Vermont’s early childhood system, alongside national best practices. Hosted by Building Bright Futures, these webinars support data-driven decision-making and policy development by bringing together key early childhood partners and experts.

Common Good Vermont provides resources and training for Vermont nonprofits. Learn more about data privacy at their June 3 event Operational Security: Keeping Your Devices, Data, and Communications Safe. Find more Common Good Vermont events at commongoodvt.org and reach out to [email protected] for more information.