Clym reviewed federal legislation, FTC rulemaking, enforcement actions, and education technology data to examine how children’s online privacy protections are changing for the 2026-27 school year. On March 5, 2026, the Senate unanimously passed the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, commonly called COPPA 2.0. COPPA currently stops at age 13The existing Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, enacted in 1998, applies to covered websites and online services that collect personal information from children under 13. The updated rule also places tighter limits on how long covered companies can retain children’s personal information. For students heading into the 2026-27 school year, however, children’s online privacy is already changing without a new act of Congress.