Photo courtesy of Google Images

By Lyn Taylor  

A federal district court just handed down a ruling that will release over ten million California students’ personal information.  Federal court judge Kimberley J. Mueller ruled that information for all students who attended public schools in California since January 1, 2008 be released to a court-appointed analyst working on behalf of two nonprofit agencies, the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association and the Concerned Parents Association.  The groups want to analyze the data to see if the Department of Education is guilty of any wrongdoing relating to students with disabilities.

Five years ago, the Morgan Hill group sued the California State Department of Education to ensure that students with disabilities receive the free and appropriate public education that is directed by federal law.  The Morgan Hill group was joined in the case by California Concerned Parents Association, which advocates for students with disabilities in over 80 of the state’s school districts.

California Concerned Parents Association requested the statewide data to prove its case that students with identified needs are not being provided adequate services. To do that, it needs to survey student school records.

“We asked repeatedly, many times, for the data without identifiable information,” said CCPA President Linda McNulty, whose son formerly attended Morgan Hill schools. She said the state Education Department refused.

According to the California State PTA, the court ruling requires the release of each student’s name, Social Security number, demographics, course information, statewide assessment results, teacher demographics, program information, behavior and discipline information, progress reports, special education assessment plans, special education assessments/evaluations, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), records pertaining to health, mental health and medical information, student statewide identifiers (SSID), attendance statistics, information on suspensions and expulsions, and results on state tests.

CA State PTA President Justine Fischer released the following statement:

“It’s hard to fathom that a judge would allow such an overexposure of children’s information. California State PTA has a long history of upholding the privacy rights of our state’s students, and today is no different. Our organization stands against this dangerous ruling to release children’s names, Social Security numbers and much more, which even the plaintiffs note goes far beyond the general demographic information they sought to research.

“As the bridge between families, schools and communities, we will be working at the state and local levels to inform families of this issue and the April 1 deadline to voice their objection to this onerous information release, which places an undue burden of time, expense and worry on parents whose children these privacy laws were created to protect.

“We are committed to children’s privacy and will be further exploring ways to protect our most vulnerable Californians – our children – against the violation of their personal rights.”

You may file an objection with the court by printing a PDF form and sending it to the address listed on the form, although it is not guaranteed that this objection will prevent your child’s data from being released.  The Objection to Disclosure of Student Information and Records form in English and Spanish can be found online at the California Department of Education website at www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/ws/morganhillcase.asp.