Steven J. McDonald is General Counsel at Rhode Island School of Design and previously served as Associate Legal Counsel at The Ohio State University. On Data Privacy Day, he wrote a post on EDUCAUSE on FERPA that unintentionally demonstrates how imprecise standards are for data security and protection of student records. For example, he writes:…
Category: Youth & Schools
10 Questions to Ask Your Child’s School District on Data Privacy Day 2013
For Data Privacy Day 2013 on January 28, I’ve tried to compile a list of questions parents should ask their child’s school district about how their child’s personal information is protected. Send your letter to your district’s Superintendent with a cc: to your district’s Board of Education: Dear ________: As a parent of a student…
Teacher posts picture of students with duct-taped mouths, faces privacy violations
Faith Heaton Jolley reports on what may have been some innocent classroom hijinks that never should have been shared on Facebook: Parents were enraged after an Ohio middle school teacher posted a picture of their children on her Facebook page depicting the teenagers with duct tape across their mouths. The Akron school board is considering…
In Federal Court EPIC Defends Student Privacy
From EPIC: In documents filed with a federal court in Washington, DC, EPIC is challenging changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The revised regulations, issued by the Education Department, allow the release of student records for non-academic purposes and undercut parental consent provisions. The rule change also promotes the public use of student IDs…