Transcript Privacy of Student Data Presentation - Croton
PRIVACY OF STUDENT DATA
C R O T O N - H A R M O N S C H O O L S : C O M M U N I T Y F O R U M O C T O B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 3
THIS INFORMATION IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING
• In the spirit of transparency, we offer some answers to questions that have been posed.
• It is our intent to keep this dialogue going as more information becomes known as we navigate through the changing State requirements.
STUDENT RECORDS REGULATION: BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY 5500
(REVISED MARCH 14 2013) FERPA- The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act- Provides parents and children over 18 years of age “the right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in a student’s education records.” Student Directory Information- the school district may release the following information without parental/student consent: name, address, telephone number, date of birth, major course of study, participation in school activities or sports, weight and height if a member of an athletic team, dates of attendance, grade level, degrees and awards received, most recent school attended, class schedule, photograph, email address and enrollment status.
STUDENT RECORDS REGULATION: BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY 5500 (REVISED MARCH 14 2013) Parent option- you may object to the release of all of this “directory information,” however, you must do so in writing within 14 days of receiving notice from the school district.
WHO TYPICALLY REQUESTS STUDENT DIRECTORY INFORMATION?
Not for Profits (PTAs, The Rotary Club are examples).
The Police What are the results of “opting out”?
Student directory information will not be shared with such organizations If I have questions about student directory information, who do I ask?
Your child’s principal
WHAT IS THE BOE’S POSITION ON THE PRIVACY OF STUDENT DATA?
• The Croton-Harmon Board of Education believes in the privacy of student data.
• Because New York State has received Race to the Top money, it has asked districts to select a “data dashboard” that will allow administrators, teachers, parents and students to have their own level of access to student data.
• The data are stored in inBloom. This was determined by the State Education Department.
• Because of this SED decision, the Croton-Harmon Board of Education no longer wants to participate in Race to the Top.
• The Board does not support using inBloom to store student data.
WHAT DATA ARE WE REQUIRED TO SEND TO NYSED?
• • • • • • • • Demographic Data* Enrollment (Entry/Exit)* Program Fact eSD* Program Fact IEP* NYS Assessment 3-8* NYS Regents* Course Titles BEDS Enrollment Data • • • • • • Special Education EOY Snapshot* Special Education Events Extract* Marking Period Dates Staff/Student/Course Data* Violent & Disruptive Incident Reporting Dignity for All Students Act Data * Student information is part of these data, using a “unique student identifier”
FUTURE REPORTING MAY INCLUDE….
• • Discipline data including the infraction and student – specific information. At this point we have not received specific NYSED guidance.
Additional extracts from the data base that are student-specific?????
IS THE DISTRICT ALLOWED TO WITHHOLD STUDENT DATA FROM THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT?
No. There are exceptions to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that permit school districts to disclose such information to certain parties and/or under certain conditions without prior written consent. As a state agency, SED has the right to collect data to “develop tests, administer student aid, or improve instruction.” Pursuant to Education Law Section 305, the Commissioner of Education has a general supervisory authority over all schools that are covered under the Education Law. As such, unless an order of the Commissioner is arbitrary and capricious, the Board of Education will likely be found to be required to adhere to the Commissioner’s orders.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DATA?
• • • • The State Education Department has a contract with InBloom. InBloom is a Gates-Foundation-funded initiative to build a new data infrastructure for public schools. InBloom states it will streamline schools’ handling of data and provide more access to student data to companies that will build tools to “enhance personalized learning.” How long will students’ data be stored ? The InBloom service is able to store multiple years of data. States will choose how long the data will be stored.
It is our understanding based on the information communicated to superintendents, that student data will flow from SED to InBloom whether or not a district participates in Race to the Top.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DATA (CONTINUED)
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What data are being collected by InBloom that is different than states are currently collecting?
States and districts will store the same data with inBloom that they were previously collecting and storing in other places. Districts will control who sees what information and for what purposes.
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Are these data secure
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InBloom and the State Education Department claims InBloom is more secure than any of the systems school districts currently use to store student data. Ken Wagner, SED’s Associate Commissioner of the Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Educational Technology, states that currently “There are no standard protocols to ensure data security and privacy.”
CAN A PARENT “OPT OUT” OF THEIR CHILD’S DATA GOING TO SED?
No. All data in our system must be sent to SED. Can a parent “opt out” of the NYS testing program, which is the source of much of the data?
Parents control student participation, not the school district.
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE STATE TESTING PROGRAM?
• At present, we are not aware of any consequences for students in grades 3-8. • At the high school level, students must pass five Regents in order to graduate.
• It is our understanding that the District must maintain a 95% participation rate in all state assessments grades 3-12 or face losing some of its state aid.
WHAT CAN PARENTS DO WHO OBJECT TO THE SHARING OF STUDENT DATA WITH THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT?
• Contact your legislators. Legislative action is the only way to limit the power of the State Education Department regarding student data collection.
HERE ARE THE SPECIFICS:
• • • • Two bills passed the New York State Assembly that would block student data sharing without consent, or allow for parental opt out, have been introduced in the NY State Senate by State Senators Martins (S.5930) and Robach (S.5932). Contact our State Senator Greg Ball. His District Office is 1441 Route 22 Suite 205, Brewster, NY 10509. Phone 845-279-7156 Contact the sponsor of S.5930, State Senator Jack Martins. His District Office is 151 Herricks Road, Suite 202, Garden City Park, NY 11040. Phone 515-746-5924 Contact the sponsor of S.5932, State Senator Joseph Robach. His District Office is 2300 W. Ridge Road, Rochester, NY 14616. Phone 585-225-3650
THE DATA DASHBOARD REQUIREMENT
• • • • Those districts that have accepted Race to the Top monies are required to select a “data dashboard” from one of three vendors identified by SED by October 31, 2013.
Croton received $5,180 in 2011-12 and $1,729 in 2012-13. Because of the direction SED is going regarding sending student data to InBloom, the Board of Education no longer wants to participate in Race to the Top and does not want to select a data dashboard. We would prefer to further develop our own data dashboard, based on our own data. It is important to note that SED will send our student data to InBloom regardless of whether we select a state-mandated data dashboard.
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ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
What will the data be used for?
According to InBloom, to build tools to enhance personal learning.
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Will parents be able to view student data for accuracy?
Parents can contact the district regarding accuracy of student data.
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Who is responsible for the accuracy of the data?
The school district.
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Will the data be personally identifiable?
At present, unique student identifiers are used (numbers; not social security number)