Outrage Over Order To Release Records, Social Security Numbers Of 10 Million CA Students
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The records, including social security numbers, of some 10 million California students are going to be in the hands of a group of attorneys suing the state over children's rights.
Word of the data release has sparked outrage and raised concerns among parents, and privacy advocates alike who fear the information could fall into the wrong hands.
Attorneys for California Concerned Parents Association filed the lawsuit in 2012 on behalf of parents in the Morgan Hill Unified School District who felt students with special needs weren't getting adequate services. In order to prove its case, they need to survey student school records.
According to the San Jose Mercury, a group of 10 people will review the material and must destroy it afterwards. In addition to social security numbers the data includes "addresses, test scores, disciplinary records, health and mental health records and more."
The group says it asked to receive the data without "identifiable names," but the California Education Department refused.
The court order for the data release has set off a barrage of complaints and finger pointing, with each side denying direct responsibility for the release of private information, and parents caught in the middle.
The group California Concerned Parents has received such a large number of negative comments on its Facebook page it had to shut it down. Another Facebook page has since cropped up called Stop the California Concerned Parents Association, along with a petition to deny them access to student records on Change.org. The hashtag #StopTheCCPA is active on Twitter and other social media.
The organization posted a statement in its own defense on their website.
'We would like parents to understand that we had offered to mediate a settlement with the California Department of Education (CDE- Defendants) many times and have offered to receive the information with "pseudo" names (fake names). The attorneys for the CDE refused which forced the judge to make this ruling.'
The Education Department defends their position, as well.
"The California Department of Education has been fighting vigorously to defend the privacy rights of students throughout California, but we are required to comply with the court order in this case," department spokesman Peter Tira told the SJ Mercury.
Meanwhile, parents who want their child's records exempted from the court order must file a request by April 1. To find the form, follow the link: http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/ws/morganhillcase.asp.
