Obama's Executive Action to Rewrite No Child Left Behind Modifies Student Privacy Rights

This article is long and has supporting documentation the full article can be read at: http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/05/obamas-executive-action-to-rewrite-no.html

I will give you one example of how personally identifiable information collected by educational entities is being sold and used by for profit companies. My son just went through the process of applying and being accepted into college. Look at what came in the mail yesterday.

How did Texas relator Chesney Coker know that my son was accepted to the University of Texas? And How did he get my sons name and address? Did Mr. Chesney also get my tax records and pre-qualify me to purchase a house in Texas?

How is private personally identifiable information that parents and students give to educational institutions ending up in the hands of for profit companies?

I did a little research and here is what I found.

On December 10, 2015, by Executive Action, President Obama singed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
No Child Left Behind Fact Sheet
For Latest News on Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

At the same time the Department of Education amended the Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), a Federal Law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA has been amended to allow private for profit education companies to have access to students personally identifiable data without parent consent.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."

• Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.
• Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.
• Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

• School officials with legitimate educational interest;

• Other schools to which a student is transferring;

• Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;

• Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;

• Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;

• Accrediting organizations;

• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;

• Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and

• State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

Note: Remember the Morgan Hill Case where a judge ordered personally identifiable information be released under judicial order- See: http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/02/lawsuit-against-california-department.html

To facilitate this data collection, the US Department of Education created a new system of records entitled "Impact Evaluation of Data - Driven Instruction Professional Development for Teachers.
US Department of Education System Records Impact Evaluation Data Driven Instruction Professional Development Teachers

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this notice of a new system of records entitled ``Impact Evaluation of Data- Driven Instruction Professional Development for Teachers'' (#18-13-39). The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance at the Department's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) awarded a contract in September 2012 to Mathematica Policy Research, Abt Associates, Synergy Enterprises, Evidence-Based Education Research & Evaluation, and Public Consulting Group Education--Focus on Results to provide evidence on the effectiveness of data-driven instruction professional development.
Item Link:
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records-Impact Evaluation of Data-Driven Instruction Professional Development for TeachersItem Date:
12/01/2015 - 7:00pm

A Notice Of A New System Of Records by the Education Department 12/02/15

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

The system of records will include personally identifying information about the students, teachers, and principals who participate in the study. The system will contain records on approximately 12,000 students, 500 teachers, and 104 principals from 104 schools in 12 school districts.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

For students, this information will include, but will not necessarily be limited to, standardized math and English/Language Arts test scores, age, sex, race/ethnicity, grade, eligibility for free/reduced-price lunches, English Learner status, individualized education plan status, school enrollment dates, attendance records, and discipline records. For principals and teachers, this information will include, but will not necessarily be limited to, individual district identifiers, school assignments, grades and subjects taught, and principal and teacher background characteristics, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, certifications, degrees, years of teaching experience, and scores on licensure or certification tests.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

The Department may disclose information contained in a record in this system of records under the routine uses listed in this system of records without the consent of the individual if the disclosure is compatible with the purposes for which the record was collected. The Department may make these disclosures on a case-by-case basis or, if the Department has complied with the computer matching requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act), under a computer matching agreement. Any disclosure of individually identifiable information from a record in this system must also comply with the requirements of section 183 of the ESRA (20 U.S.C. 9573) providing for confidentiality standards that apply to all collection, reporting, and publication of data by the Institute of Education Sciences. Any disclosure of personally identifiable information from student education records that were obtained from schools or school districts must also comply with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; 34 CFR part 99), which protects the privacy of student education records.

Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity to perform any function that requires disclosing records in this system to the contractor's employees, the Department may disclose the records to those employees who have received the appropriate level of security clearance from the Department. Before entering into such a contract, the Department will require the contractor to establish and maintain the safeguards required under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(m)) with respect to the records in the system.

As a result of these changes in Privacy Laws, there have been hundreds of private for profit companies that have been started by Trustees, Administrators and Educators that will profit from the use of a students' personally identifiable data, and they will do so without parental consent or knowledge. The identity of the 12 Districts in the pilot program are not being disclosed.

This article is to long for the Patch - for full article see: http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/05/obamas-executive-action-to-rewrite-no.html