Parents Your Student Information Is For Sale If You Don't Refuse To Have Your Child Included In The Directory This Year

i received these emails from two parent advocates about the data mining that is going on with our students information:

Alison McDowell via googlegroups.com	8:04 AM (4 hours ago)
to opt-out-philly, ITAG-Opt-Out, apps-philly

Really good article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on student data privacy issues in PA below. Be advised that parents can opt out of the Google Apps for Education terms of use. The new student email accounts use the student's ID number as the address, so that content of emails and associated drives can be tracked are are likely considered student records under FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (also see link at bottom of post to protect student medical records), and thus can be shared with third parties without parent consent for "research" purposes. This is a particular issue because many schools are now using chromebooks, which require entering an email address to access the Internet. Log-ins also enable ongoing monitoring by the District regarding use of "personalized" online learning programs and online classrooms discussions through shared documents, etc. Something to consider as the new school year gets underway...

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/surveillance-society/2015/08/20/Surveillance-Society-Students-easy-targets-for-data-miners/stories/201508230018

Dawn Sweeney via googlegroups.com	8:42 AM (4 hours ago)
to Alison, opt-out-philly

Thanks Alison!

Parents can refuse to have their child included in Directory information – this is the gateway to sharing student information, but does not prevent data collection by the apps mentioned in the article Alison posted.  
The Directory Information refusal needs to be done by this year.  Below is a sample email sent to school principal and the wording of the right to refuse.

Dear Principal ____________,

I am writing to refuse to permit the disclosures of any and all directory information for my student name per the below guidelines.

Sincerely,5. The right to refuse the designation of any or all the categories of directory information. 
The District is permitted by law to disclose directory information without the written consent of the parent or eligible student. The parent or eligible student has the right to refuse to permit the disclosures of any or all directory information if a written refusal is forwarded to the building principal no later than September 15th of the current school year.
Directory information means information contained in an education record of a student which would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Directory information includes, but is not limited to a student’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, photos, videos, date and place of birth, names of parents and siblings, dates of attendance, whether the student graduated and the date of graduation, awards received, participation in extracurricular activities, weight and height of interscholastic athletic team members, and schools attended within the District. 


submit your comment to protect your students medical information  By October 2, 2015

Parents Can Opt Out Students out of Photo and Video Collection
A Sample Letter to Give To The School

KINDERGARTEN ENTRY ASSESSMENT

VISUAL AND AUDIO EVIDENCE COLLECTION

NOTICE OF PARENTAL/GUARDIAN OPT-OUT

To Whom It May Concern:

In accordance with the option to opt out offered by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, I am opting my child, _______________________, out of the use and storage of photographs, videos, and audio recordings to support evidence of performance ratings on the formative K-3 assessment process.  This option is offered to parents in the FAQ section of the NC Department of Public Instruction Live Binder on K-3 Formative Assessment Process.

I do not want any photographs, videos, or audio recording taken because such actions would expose _________________________ to data security breaches and represent an invasion of his/her privacy.  The data being collected is not being stored in a server located on the school grounds, but in another electronic platform. Further, such collection and use of data without my consent as parent or guardian would constitute a violation of my parental rights under the U.S. Constitution.

I also request the school not begin a “Child Profile” with __________________________’s K-3 Formative Assessment ratings to be included in the tracking of student data until his/her 5th year in the workforce (P20W), and the collection and use of his/her information (data) for the State Longitudinal Data System.  While I understand a Unique Identifier is given, for security purposes, a student’s name will always be attached to the UID for adding additional data over the years.

Please place a copy of this notice in my child’s official record and ensure his/her teachers are notified that he/she will not be participating in any electronic profiling by the use of photographs, videos and audio recordings.

I have no problem with __________________________’s photograph being taken and used for public or media purposes (e.g., school, class website, classroom).

Sincerely,

Parent’s Signature: __________________________________________

Date:_________________________________________________________