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For Immediate Release:  
For Further Information:
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October 30, 2008  

Lee Moore
609-292-4791

Office of The Attorney General
- Anne Milgram, Attorney General

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Attorney General Announces Settlement with Educational Research Center of America on Collection, Marketing of Student Information

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TRENTON -- Attorney General Anne Milgram announced today that the state has entered into a multi-state settlement agreement with the New Jersey-based Educational Research Center of America, Inc. requiring that the company change its procedures for collecting and handling personal information about junior high and high school students.

The settlement resolves allegations by New Jersey and 33 other states that ERCA offered gift cards to teachers and counselors in return for distributing its student surveys. The states also alleged that ERCA used its surveys to collect personal information about students, but never disclosed to students and their parents how to opt out of sharing their personal information.

According to Milgram, ERCA enticed teachers and counselors in New Jersey and across the country to have their students complete surveys by offering them $40 and $50 gift cards from companies including Staples, VISA, and Office Max. ERCA’s Web site reports that ERCA distributes millions of surveys to U.S. secondary school teachers every year.

Under the multi-state settlement agreement, ERCA must no longer offer anything of monetary value to educators relating to the collection and marketing of personal information from students.

“The relationship of trust that develops between students and their teachers should not be exploited for commercial purposes,” said Milgram. “This settlement agreement is designed to ensure that does not happen. “

Based in Morristown, ERCA asks high school and junior high students to provide survey responses on questions pertaining to their ethnic backgrounds, honors won, participation in sports and extracurricular activities, the religious affiliation of a college they would choose, if any, and other information.

Student information obtained by ERCA has been marketed and provided to colleges and other educational institutions, but also to commercial businesses that sell products and services to students. Such commercial use of student survey information was disclosed by ERCA, but the company did not tell students and the parents of students under 18 how to opt out of such marketing.

In addition to no longer providing gift card incentives to educators, ERCA must now clearly disclose how students, or the parents of students under age 18, can opt out of completing the surveys, according to the settlement agreement.

ERCA is a not-for-profit corporation. Under terms of the settlement agreement with New Jersey and the other states, ERCA does not admit to any violation of New Jersey consumer protection law, or to having violated any similar statute in another state.

As part of the “Assurance of Discontinuance /Assurance of Voluntary Compliance” agreement, ERCA must pay $200,000 to the participating states for investigative costs, attorney fees, and consumer education and litigation.

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