Matthew Cella reports:
Schools are putting children at risk of identity fraud by obtaining their Social Security numbers when it is not required by law and often unnecessary, the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General has concluded.
Some school systems in at least 26 states collect the nine-digit identifiers when students from kindergarten through high school register for classes, even though the respective state does not require it as a matter of law, according to a report released last week.
Read more in the Washington Times.
Related: The Inspector General’s report can be found here:
A-08-10-11057 – 7/22/10 – Kindergarten Through 12th Grade Schools’ Collection and Use of Social Security Numbers (pdf)