Deadline: April 1
Form: http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/ws/documents/form2016jan26.pdf
As part of an ongoing lawsuit, a federal court in northern California has ordered the California Department of Education (“CDE”) to disclose to two private nonprofit organizations information containing protected personal information of children who are attending or who have attended a California school at any time since January 1, 2008. The information that will be disclosed is quite extensive and could include your child’s name, social security number, home address, demographics, course information, statewide assessment results, teacher demographics, program information, behavior and discipline information, progress reports, special education assessment plans, special education assessments/evaluations, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), records pertaining to health, mental health and medical information, student statewide identifiers (SSID), attendance statistics, information on suspensions and expulsions, and results on state tests.
Although the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) protect the privacy of student records, these laws permit the disclosure of records to comply with a Court order like this one.
HOWEVER, you do have an opportunity to object to the disclosure of your child’s information. You must print out and snail-mail the “Objection to Disclosure of Student Information and Records Case No. 2:11-CV-03471” form at the CDE’s website (www.cde.ca.gov/morganhillcase) to the Court, and you must submit a separate form for each child you wish to opt-out. Please click on the link above for instructions and more information.
Keep in mind that any opt-outs must be “submitted to the court on or before April 1, 2016” via snail-mail. It isn’t clear whether the court must receive the form by that date or whether the form must be postmarked by that date, so be on the safe side and make sure to pop it in the mail today!
You can also read the state PTA’s action alert on this topic at http://capta.bmetrack.com/c/v?e=8E3271&c=4592C&l=1D3473B2&email=HX0DhBzoGe7h1N6QLgN7nnzBjzlZ2TJR&relid=C0A80267.