Alert for California Parents of School-Age Children:
California School Students’ Information Scheduled to be Released
The Identity Theft Resource Center and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse want to alert all parents of school-aged children throughout California about a pending deadline to object to the potential release of their child’s sensitive personal identifying information. The deadline for parents and adult students to object to the disclosure of personal information and records is April 1, 2016.
OBJECT TO YOUR CHILD'S STUDENT RECORDS FROM BEING RELEASED BY FOLLOWING THESE SIMPLE STEPS:
- Click on this link and complete the objection form (complete one form per child)
- Mail this completed form via regular mail to:
United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller
c/o Clerk of the Court
Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse
501 I Street, Room 4-200
Sacramento, CA 95814
Attn: Document Filed Under Seal
A court granted the release of documents subject to a protective order, stemming from a lawsuit between the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association and the California Department of Education. This would allow for the release of extremely sensitive information stored on the CDE databases and network drives to be released to the parties of the lawsuit, their attorneys and consultants, and the Court. The ITRC and PRC believe that all California parents should be aware of this event and need to decide for themselves if they wish to object to the release of this information. Some families may feel strongly that providing this information for this purpose is something that they want to allow, while others may feel they do not.
The protective order specifically states no student’s identifying records will be disclosed to the public. However, the order does not state the manner in which the information will be released, or details regarding how safeguarding of the sensitive information will be carried out. (UPDATE: This alert has been updated with information regarding the security protocols. See UPDATE below.)
The plaintiffs allege the California Department of Education has violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), among other related laws, by failing to monitor, investigate, provide services to, and enforce the rights of children with disabilities consistent with its obligations under the law, and have requested access to these records in order to prove their case. The Defendant denies these allegations.
The ITRC and PRC are hopeful that more details regarding how this information will be safeguarded after it has been released will be provided to parents prior to the objection deadline so that parents can make an informed decision regarding this action.
The request is for the personal information of children, including children with disabilities, children who requested an assessment or who were assessed for special education eligibility, and children who are attending, or who have attended, a California school at any time since January 1, 2008. This includes name, Social Security number, home address, behavior and discipline information, special education assessments/evaluations, records pertaining to health, mental health and medical information and other demographic information.
According to the court order, Failure either to submit an Objection Form or letter to the Court by April 1, 2016 will be deemed a waiver of your right to object to the disclosure of your or your child’s protected personal information and records.
UPDATE: 2/11/2016 AT 3:30 p.m. PST
A Court Order detailing the security protocols that are to be put in place to safeguard sensitive student information has been provided to the ITRC. This document is a public record. This information was not provided on the objection notification.
Parents should review this document carefully when deciding whether or not to object to the sharing of their student/s information. There are seven different databases that are encompassed in the attachment to the court order. They are listed on pages 7-12 of the PDF file. The data security process can be found on the last two pages of the attachment to the court order. It should be noted that the concerns regarding appropriate security protocols, and the consequences of lost or compromised data, are discussed in the document.
Proposed E-Discovery Protocol - Safeguarding the Security of the Produced Data
The Special Master has significant concern about the storage and use of the highly sensitive student data that will be produced by CDE to the Plaintiffs. Loss or compromise of the produced data could result in the notification of literally millions of persons under state and Federal breach notification requirements, at a cost of millions of dollars. Such notification could also affect persons who are now residents in other states, and trigger breach notification laws in those states.
UPDATE: 2/18/2016
The ITRC has been informed that our use of the words “Opt-Out” could be misleading to parents. In this alert, we previously used the terms Objection and Opt-Out interchangeably. We have changed all references to the "Opt-Out" language to "Object".
The opportunity for parents to object to the release of their child’s information exists; however, at this time we do not know if the filing of the objection guarantees the information will not be released.
Disclaimer: This information is being provided in keeping with the public education and awareness portion of the ITRC mission and as such, does not constitute legal opinion or advice. The ITRC is a non-profit organization established to support victims of identity theft in resolving their cases and to broaden public education and awareness in the understanding of identity theft and related issues. You should consult with an attorney regarding your individual rights.
Disclaimer: The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) is a nonprofit organization, based in San Diego, California. Its mission is to engage, educate and empower individuals to protect their privacy. The information in this Alert is provided in keeping with the organization’s public education mission and, as such, does not constitute legal opinion or advice.
For more information and the forms required to object:
Court Order - Notice of Disclosure
