Urgent deadline to allow parents to meet Sept. 12 comment date: Court orders schools to inform parents about data release, both on school web site and posted in buildings
Boards should confer with their counsel about a notice from ODE advising that a U.S. District Court has ordered that 2013-2014 school year records from the Ohio Department of Education's Educational Management Information System be turned over to Disability Rights Ohio as part of an ongoing lawsuit. FERPA requires that families of students whose data will be released must be notified and given the opportunity to object.
The court is instructing all local education agencies to post notice about this opportunity to object on their district websites and in a central location, accessible to the public, in each building that is open to the public. A copy of the notice - which includes instructions on how parents may object to the data release - can be found here. The court must receive objections no later than Sept. 12.
Students' names, addresses and social security numbers are not part of the information to be released. Ohio is one of only three states that do not allow their departments of education to collect this data, to protect student privacy. Data to be released for each student include student ID number, school name, grade, gender, race, age and disability category. The records also reveal student performance on the state's Ohio Achievement Assessments and Ohio Graduation Tests, as well as tests related to Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Student suspensions and expulsions also are listed.
The data is subject to a protective order, which means Disability Rights Ohio cannot publicize it. Please contact the Ohio Department of Education's legal office at (614) 466-4705 if you have questions.
Boards should confer with their counsel about a notice from ODE advising that a U.S. District Court has ordered that 2013-2014 school year records from the Ohio Department of Education's Educational Management Information System be turned over to Disability Rights Ohio as part of an ongoing lawsuit. FERPA requires that families of students whose data will be released must be notified and given the opportunity to object.
The court is instructing all local education agencies to post notice about this opportunity to object on their district websites and in a central location, accessible to the public, in each building that is open to the public. A copy of the notice - which includes instructions on how parents may object to the data release - can be found here. The court must receive objections no later than Sept. 12.
Students' names, addresses and social security numbers are not part of the information to be released. Ohio is one of only three states that do not allow their departments of education to collect this data, to protect student privacy. Data to be released for each student include student ID number, school name, grade, gender, race, age and disability category. The records also reveal student performance on the state's Ohio Achievement Assessments and Ohio Graduation Tests, as well as tests related to Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Student suspensions and expulsions also are listed.
The data is subject to a protective order, which means Disability Rights Ohio cannot publicize it. Please contact the Ohio Department of Education's legal office at (614) 466-4705 if you have questions.
