PowerPoint Presentation - Confidentiality
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Transcript of PowerPoint Presentation - Confidentiality
1
Objectives
This presentation is designed to:
• Present the basics of FERPA
• Define and explain rules for confidentiality
• Increase an awareness of school district
responsibilities regarding privacy of student
records, including student data
• Provide implications for school board
policies and procedures
FERPA
FAMILY
EDUCATIONAL
RIGHTS AND
PRIVACY
ACT
Federal Law Violation
• Nikolas Cruz – Parkland, FL school
shooter and former high school student
• Broward County S.D. released
information on Cruz to the Sun
Sentinel newspaper based on a judge’s
order to give the reports to the media
• Some information was intended to be
redacted
• Details released included the district’s
mishandling of Cruz’s request to return
to a school for students with
disabilities (Also IDEA violation)
• District faulted the newspaper for
publishing the information
• Board’s attorneys (without board
approval) requested that the newspaper
be held in contempt of court
2
FERPA
Under FERPA, parents and students are
granted very specific and extensive rights
regarding confidential information
contained in education records.
Parents are given the right to inspect, to
control to a degree, and to challenge
information maintained on their child.
Rights transfer to a student when he/she
reaches the age of 18 or attends a school
beyond the high school level
• Passed in 1974, amended in 1996
• New regulations in effect January 9, 2009
• Applies to all schools that receive federal funds
• Also called the “Buckley Amendment”
FERPA
Federal law
Passed in 1974, amended in 1996
Occasionally updated
Applies to all schools that receive
funds from the U.S. Department of
Education
Known as the “Buckley Amendment”
GOAL of FERPA
To prohibit the unauthorized
disclosure of personally identifiable
information (PII) from student records.
This goal will apply without regard to
the format of the record (written,
video, or electronic).
Importance of Confidentiality
• If violations are found, federal funds
may be withheld
• Parents may proceed in a private civil
action against the school district
seeking redress for violations
• It’s the right thing to do!
Data Breach
• Papers containing data regarding a special
needs assessment for a 7th grader named
Kevin were thrown in the trash behind a
middle school.
• Wind blew the papers out of the trash, and a
student grabbed some and read them.
• Data included Kevin’s IQ score,
psychological data, behavioral information,
and family history.
• Student and his friends passed the
information around the school.
• Kevin was taunted relentlessly; called
stupid, dumb, retard.
• Kevin’s family sued the school district.
• Jury found the school district liable for
$60,000 in past damages; $80,000 in future
damages; $45,000 in legal fees to the
family.
But – what about the damage to Kevin?
3
Definitions
• Confidentiality
– Protecting all personally identifiable data
(PII) - information and records used or kept
by the school district about a student
– Applies to discussions about a student and
the student’s record
– Could apply to bus, classroom, hallway,
and performance/sporting event videos
Definitions
• Disclosure
– Permitting access to, the release, transfer,
and other communication of educational
records of a child or youth
– This includes disclosure made:
• orally
• in writing
• by any other means, including electronic
transfer of information (ex. Fax, text, email etc.)
Definitions
• Redact
--- To remove text or images from an
original document.
• Expunge
--- To cut out, white-out or black-out parts
of a document.
Usually justified for confidentially reasons
Definition Of Education Records
Records, files, documents and other materials
which contain information directly related to a
student and are maintained by an educational
agency or institution, or by a person acting for
such agency or institution.
May include emails (contradicting court case
results)
Security Camera Video
• A group of male students was involved in
an altercation outside of a classroom at a
middle school.
• A surveillance camera recorded the
incident.
• Parents of one of the students requested to
view the video.
• District determined that the video was an
education record protected by FERPA.
• Parents filed a complaint in trial court to
compel the district to produce a copy of the
video.
• Trial court ruled that the record being
sought by the parent was an education
record because it contained personally
identifiable information of other students.
• Trial court also ruled that the district had to
produce a redacted version of the video if
the parent paid the cost.
4
Personally Identifiable
Information (PII)
Name of student, student’s parents or other family
member
Address of the student
Any personal identifier (SS #)
A list of personal characteristics that would make
it possible to identify the student
Personally Identifiable
Information (PII)
Data or information that include any of the
following:
• personal and family data
• evaluation and test data
• medical, psychological, and progress
reports
• written accounts of conferences
• any other information used in working
with the student
Education records not covered in this section
include records of instructional, supervisory and
administrative personnel which are in the sole
possession of the maker and are not revealed or
accessible to any other person. If the teacher
keeps notes on a student, but shows them to NO
ONE, and these notes are kept in a secure manner
or location, these notes are not considered
education records.
Directory Information
May Be Disclosed If:
Parents are annually given public notice of
the types of information designated as
directory information
AND
Given opportunity to refuse release
Directory Information
Most schools have stopped printing
directories, but the following information may
be included with parent permission.
Student’s name
Student’s address
Student’s telephone number
Student’s date and place of birth
Student’s major field of study
Directory Information
Participation in officially recognized sports
and activities
Student’s weight, height – if member of an
athletic team
Dates of attendance
Degree, awards received
Most recent educational institution or
agency attended
5
Right To Inspect And Review Records
The rights of parents to inspect and review records is clearly spelled out in federal regulations.
Right to review records within a reasonable period of time of written request
Right to have representative review records
Right to response to requests for explanation and interpretation of records
Right to inspect only information related to own child
Rights extend to both parents unless otherwise indicated by law
Right to obtain copies of records
Sole Possession Records
Sole Possession Records are exempt from parent access if they meet the following:
• Must be a private note created solely by the individual possessing the note
• Must be a personal memory aid
AND/OR
• The information in the note must not be accessible or revealed to any other person
The implication is that teachers and staff should be careful what they put in writing and with whom they share it!
Consent for DisclosuresFederal regulations spell out the process for
consent for disclosure of education records.
Annual written notification of right to consent to
disclosures
Written consent signed and dated, including
• specification of records disclosed
• purpose of disclosure
• parties to whom disclosure is made
Copy of disclosed records provided to parent
upon request
Third party disclosure prohibited without written
consent of parent
Conditions Where Prior Consent
Not Required
Disclosure within agency with legitimate
education interest
Transfer records
Directory information
Audit purposes
Subpoenas or court order
Financial aid
Health and safety emergencies
6
Remember ---
WHEN IN DOUBT ---
DON’T GIVE IT OUT!
Check school board policy.
Check with school board attorney.
Destruction Of Information
Records are not destroyed if there is an
outstanding inspection request
Parents informed when information no
longer needed
Information no longer needed destroyed at
parents' request
Permanent record maintained
Board policy on destruction of information
which complies with state guidelines
PPRA
PROTECTION OF
PUPIL
RIGHTS
AMENDMENT
PPRA
Protects the rights of students and
parents:
1. To ensure that schools and
contractors make instructional
materials available for inspection by
parents if those materials will be
used in connection with an ED-
funded survey, analysis, or
evaluation in which their children
participate
2. To ensure that schools and contractors
obtain written parental consent before
minor students are required to
participate in any ED-funded survey,
analysis, or evaluation that reveals
specific information:
political affliations
sex and behavior attitudes
problems potentially embarrassing
to student and his/her family
income
7
What Did You Say?
• Four teachers are in the teacher’s lounge at
Careful Elementary after school.
• A fifth, very irritated, teacher comes into
the lounge and begins talking in an agitated
tone about how frustrated she is with Grady,
how slow he is in completing assignments,
how disrespectful he is when talking to her,
and how uncooperative his parents are when
she attempts to talk to them about his
learning and behavior issues.
• At 4:00 p.m. that same day, Mr. EnCharge,
the superintendent, receives a telephone call
from Grady’s mother regarding the
teacher’s comments about her son in the
lounge a few minutes ago.
• One of the teachers in the lounge was a
substitute teacher who was a friend of
Grady’s mother. The sub immediately
called Grady’s mother from her cell phone
in her car in the parking lot.
• Now - what will Mr. EnCharge do?
Confidentiality In Practice
The area of confidentiality is very important.
Educators must be aware of:
Confidentiality laws and requirements
Complying with procedures regarding written
educational records
Being sensitive to violations of confidentiality in
verbal exchanges with others
Confidentiality May Be Violated
When staff discusses a child in
inappropriate places or situations
When staff repeats gossip or rumors about a
child or his family
School Data WallsBest Middle School Ever has a data wall in
the school’s conference room.
The data wall contains the name of each
student in the school and each student’s test
scores in each tested subject area next to the
student’s name.
A counselor uses the room for a parent
conference.
Was student confidentiality affected?
Gossip vs. Professional Sharing
of Information
When talking to a colleague
about a student or his/her family,
apply these four tests to
determine if the discussion may
be violation of the student’s
confidentiality rights.
8
Four Tests
1. What is discussed
2. Where the discussion takes place
3. Who is listening
4. Why the discussion took place
What Is Discussed
• If the discussion involves directory information (name, address, etc.) there is no problem unless the parent has refused to have this information released
• If the discussion involves other personally identifiable information that is confidential (disability, family data, etc.), the parties should be sure that legitimate educational interest is involved
• If the discussion involves information that is rumor, opinion, or hearsay, chances are that confidentiality will be in question, and the parties have moved from professionalism to gossip.
Where The Discussion Takes
Place• If the discussion occurs in a private place (such as a
teacher’s empty room, empty teachers’ lounge, counselor’s
office), there is no problem with confidentiality.
• If the discussion occurs in a public place (such as the
playground, the halls, a busy teachers’ lounge, the grocery
store, the hair salon), there is a good chance that
confidentiality could be violated.
Who Is Listening
• If the parties to the discussion are school
officials with legitimate educational interest,
there is no problem with confidentiality
• If others are listening who have no legitimate
educational interest (such as a teacher who is
eavesdropping, students on the playground or in
the hallway, substitutes, school volunteers, etc.),
confidentiality may be violated.
Why The Discussion Took Place
• If the parties have legitimate educational
interest in a student and are sharing
information that will help them work with
the child, there is no problem with
confidentiality.
• If the parties are gossiping to pass time,
carrying tales about a student or his/her
family, or for other non-educational
reasons, there is a problem with
confidentiality.
Cyber Security
• Columbia Falls School District – Montana
• Superintendent and school board members
received a 7 page extortion letter after
hackers stole PII from a district server.
• Parents received graphic messages
threatening their children with violence.
• Hackers target districts with weak data
security measures.
9
There have been 320
K – 12
cyber security-related incidents
since January 2016.
WHAT IF ?????
Two teachers see each other in the grocery store, start
talking about a student at school (“I hear the father
walked out and left the mother. No wonder the student
has so many problems.”)
1. What are they discussing?
2. Where is the discussion taking place?
3. Who is listening?
4. Why are they discussing the student?
When asked if her confidential
files were secured, the teacher
replied, “Yes. I keep them in my
desk drawer, and when I leave
the room, I lock the door to my
room.”
Was she correct?
No. Her files are not secure because
anyone with a key has access. It is better
to have a file cabinet or desk with a lock.
The teacher keeps a folder in which she records notes
about her students. These notes have to do with the
student’s personality, behavior, achievement level,
likes and dislikes, attitudes and the like. As the
teacher is making notes in the folder after school, a
parent comes in and, noticing the folder, asks to see
notes relating to her child. The teacher refuses on the
grounds that her notes are not educational records
and, therefore, not accessible by the parent.
Is the teacher correct in her position?
10
Yes, if she does not show or reveal the
contents of the notes to anyone, if she uses
them as a memory aid, and if they remain
her private notes in her sole possession.
However, if she shares the information
with anyone, the information becomes
an educational record.
The school district had given public notice of
the types of information that would be
considered directory information, and the
parents were duly notified of their rights of
refusal. Three months later, the school
published a directory containing the specified
information on its students. One parent
became very upset, saying the district had no
right to publish this information.
Was the parent correct
in his statement?
No. The district had followed FERPA
requirements regarding directory
information (given public notice, notified
parents of rights to refuse). Three
months could be considered more than
enough time to refuse.
A parent wanted to inspect her child’s
achievement test results. She was given
her child’s data report and the class data
summary to review. She was also shown
the district profile for comparison.
Were confidentiality
procedures violated?
Yes, if the class scoring summary
contained other children’s names. A
parent has the right to view only that
information that relates to his/her child.
If the district profile contained a graph or
something similar (with no names),
there would be no problem showing
the parent.
A school posts on the main office
bulletin board a list of all the
students in the resource
classroom.
Was confidentiality
violated?
11
Yes. Any list that singles children
out violates confidentiality, if the list
contains any information other than
directory information.
A teacher has a habit of leaving students'
files out on her desk during the day. She
uses them in planning evaluations and
writing reports.
Is there a violation of
confidentiality?
There is no clear-cut answer. Leaving
confidential files on the desk could be a cause
for concern if the desk is in a high access area.
The teacher should be encouraged to close the
files or remove them from her desk when she
leaves. The same applies to copies of IEPs.
It is acceptable to keep them open on a
desk while teaching, but they should be put
away at the end of the teaching period.
The father of a student requests to see
the report card of his son who is a
student in the local elementary school.
The son is not in any special classes.
The parents are divorced, and the son
lives with his mother for the purposes of
a school address. The school refused to
disclose the boy’s grades to the father.
Was there a violation of parent
access to records?
Yes, unless the school has been
provided with evidence that there is
a court order, state statute or legally
binding document relating to such
matters as divorce, separation, or
custody that specifically revokes
these rights.
What if the parents
had never been married?
NSBA – July 11, 2018
NSBA shared its insight on how FERPA can impact
matters related to school safety as school boards work
to prevent acts of mass violence.
NSBA asked the Federal Commission on School Safety
to take action to modify FERPA to allow school board
members discretionary authority “to address significant
risks and threats to school safety before a mass violence
situation escalates”.
This change would provide needed authority to school
officials to share information which may indicate that a
student is a danger to himself or others.
12
THINK ABOUT …Confidentiality is an important ethical
consideration in protecting your students.
1. Who has access to student information in your
district?
2. Have school personnel been trained in the basics
of FERPA? Should classified staff be trained
also?
3. Is your district’s FERPA policy up-to-date?
4. Does your district have a plan in place in case of
a data breach?
5. Does your district annually notify parents of their
FERPA rights?
REMEMBER !!!
WHEN IN DOUBT –
DON’T GIVE IT OUT!
CHECK IT OUT FIRST!
RESOURCES
United State Department of Education
FERPA
PPRA
NSBA and FERPA
Council of School Attorneys
THANKS TO:
Western Illinois University