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Amira Learning, an artificial intelligence software that Portland Public Schools has engaged in a reading pilot for the 2025–26 school year, sent a letter to School Board members June 29 in which it denied collecting student data.
The letter came after Portland School Board member Stephanie Engelsman drew attention to the contract at a June 15 policy committee meeting. At that meeting, PPS officials shared details around a new Protecting Student Access and Safe Schools policy. That policy will help the district comply with two new state laws that will ensure children have access to high-quality education regardless of immigration or citizenship status, including by protecting student information.
The $5,160 contract with Amira, which WW obtained through a public records request, covered a pilot program at 10 PPS schools primarily for “supplemental literacy tutoring” in the 2025–26 academic year. Buried in it, however, was an exhibit that listed “data elements collected by product (required and optional.)”
Ticked-off boxes in that exhibit included everything from place of birth and languages spoken to English language learner status, disability information, living situations (including homeless or foster care), and migrant status. It also included a provision that Amira could not disclose such data unless provided with written authorization from the district, or as required by law.
Engelsman worried about this at the June 15 meeting, saying it was enough information for federal immigration officers to identify a student or family and build a judicial warrant if they wished. That would, she said, directly violate the new district policy’s effort to keep student records confidential, including those that might disclose immigration or citizenship status.
In the response letter, sent from Amy Scholz, Amira’s chief operating officer, the company says that the discussion at the policy committee meeting included several “inaccurate claims” and statements. Scholz wrote that Amira did not receive, store or use any demographic information from PPS. The software, she wrote, does not require demographic information of any kind to function effectively.
“In accordance with legal requirements, we identified categories of data that could potentially be shared if requested by the district,” the letter reads. “However, no such demographic data was ever provided to Amira.”
Scholz wrote that Amira supports a feature that would allow district officials to monitor student performance by demographic category. In the letter, she wrote Amira’s understanding was that demographic data would only be used “in the context of a potential research study related to growth and linking analyses,” but notes the study was never conducted, and therefore demographic data was never exchanged. Such research would’ve required explicit parent consent, she added.
The company further added that it does not accept certain categories of “sensitive data under any circumstances,” including disability status, living situation, or migrant status. It did not immediately respond to WW’s follow-up questions about why those boxes were checked off in its contract with PPS.
Engelsman also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But board Vice Chair Michelle DePass said she was “surprised to receive [the letter], but also grateful to have the record corrected.”
The letter comes ahead of a planned full-board first read of the Protecting Student Access and Safe Schools policy, which is set to take place on Tuesday.
