Portal for MS students

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2010

Portal for MS students

Just a quick acknowledgment that the parent and student portal do not always reflect the correct ongoing grade for courses with power standards. For example, if I teacher has recorded grades for one power standard in a course but not yet for the other two power standards, the grade book will use the graded work as 100% of the grade.

The portal will consider 0's for the other two power standards, and it will look as though the student is failing. Please point out to students and parents that this is an "in progress" grade and not a posted grade. It occurs only because that's the way Infinite Campus calculates.

LINK: http://tkrouth.blogspot.com/2010/09/portal-for-ms-students.html

Following breach, state delays collecting student Social Security numbers

By Lynda Clancy | Oct 04, 2010

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AUGUSTA — The effort to build a data system that includes Social Security numbers of public school students was derailed after a technology director in Gardiner's school district was able to view Social Security numbers of school staff elsewhere in the state.

Maine's Department of Education responded by dumping all Social Security numbers of public high school students collected to date, and announced Tuesday evening, Sept. 28, that it would delay collecting any more until an independent security review of the software is completed and a report is issued.

That could take several weeks, the DOE said.

The state education agency is now providing school districts a software script that allows them to upload student enrollment data without Social Security numbers.

"A software switch was turned on when it should have been off, or off when it should have been on," said David Connerty-Marin, spokesman for the Maine DOE, on Sept. 28.

The collection of Social Security numbers and other private data has met with resistance across the state from school boards, administrators, parents and the Maine Civil Liberties Union, who question the wisdom of posting information about students in a system where data could be stolen.

On Sept. 28, the DOE recognized that concern and said in a press release the delay in Social Security number collection and review of the entire Infinite Campus information system are steps taken "as privacy advocates have expressed concerns about the security of the information and because the department learned in the past few days of an error within a secondary data system not connected to the collection of student information."

The error was fixed immediately, the DOE said.

The data system is part of the education agency's decade-long project to build an information management system that links the DOE with schools around the state. Functions of the online data system include the Longitudinal Data System and the Infinite Campus system, all of which result in producing more aggregate data for federal and state reports.

Goals include assessing the effectiveness of state educational programs with the data and producing reports that comply with the No Child Left Behind Act, as well as other state and national expectations. Producing the data also keeps the state in compliance with the federal government, ensuring the flow of educational funding to Maine. Likewise, the compliance of local school districts with the state's requests for data keeps the money flowing to Maine schools.

Last year, the Legislature passed an "Act To Improve the Ability of the Department of Education To Conduct Longitudinal Data Studies" to help measure the success of students in state educational programs. The act included language allowing the DOE's commissioner to collect Social Security numbers only if federal money was flowing to expand the statewide longitudinal system. The law also required written consent from parents before entering the Social Security numbers into the system.

According to Connerty-Marin, the staff module of the Infinite Campus information system is separate from the student module, still in development, and will not be ready for full use until next fall.

"Only a handful of schools in the state have access to the staff module," he said, adding that after seeing the numbers, the Gardiner district "immediately brought it to our attention."

The student module is well established and has been in use for a couple of years, he said. "We're comfortable with the security of the student system," he said.

The independent review of the system is expected to take several weeks. Connerty-Marin said the contractor has not been hired and there a price tag has yet to be affixed to the review.

The DOE said it was immediately turning off the synchronization function in the Infinite Campus District Edition so no locally entered data can be shared with or viewed by the state or any other user.

"In addition, we will also delete any student Social Security numbers that have been entered or uploaded into the state system as a result of synchronization so far this year," the DOE said.

"We deeply appreciate that this technology director immediately recognized the issue and called the department to inform us of the error and it was resolved immediately," said DOE Commissioner Angela Faherty, in a prepared statement. "The department takes the security of private information seriously, and supports school boards, parents and school officials in their caution with respect to the collection of data."

Connerty-Marin said Sept. 28 that schools should continue to collect Social Security numbers and enter them into their individual data systems. The DOE's system is now set so that it will not accept any numbers until the security review is complete.

"After that time, the districts will be in control of when they decide to upload them," he said.

Districts across the state have been skeptical of the DOE's demands forf student Social Security numbers since last year. Earlier this month, School Administrative District 40 voted to encourage parents not to submit their children's Social Security numbers.

The collection of private data has been a bone of contention between districts and the DOE since 2007 when the state required schools to submit names of suspended students for its developing data system. The MCLU got involved and when the state began requesting submission of Social Security numbers, resistance got louder.

The DOE reasoned that collecting Social Security numbers would provide the state and school districts greater ability to track where students went to college and what work they entered following high school graduation.

In April 2009, the Five Town Community School District School Board, along with school boards from around the state, students from Hampden, educational administrators and the MCLU delivered hours of testimony before the Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs concerning the collection of private data.

"Technology has now provided government agencies with unprecedented power to peer into our private lives, to collect information on our finances, employment, health and education," said Shenna Bellows, director of the MCLU, 18 months ago. "The [Maine] Department of Education's longitudinal data system is yet one example in a long list of new government database systems."

The DOE insisted then the system needed disclosure of personally identifiable information in case the U.S. Department of Education found reason to audit Maine's DOE. The DOE's migrant program was audited in 2003, and ran the risk of losing some federal funding.

In April 2009, the education committee did not overturn the DOE's requirement that schools submit names of suspended students, and the longitudinal data system continued in its development. The "Act To Improve the Ability of the Department of Education To Conduct Longitudinal Data Studies" enacted last fall allowed the project to continue, but set parameters on the collection of Social Security numbers.

Last fall and this fall, school districts, including SADs 40 and 28, and the Five Town CSD, informed parents by letter that if they wanted to submit their children's Social Security numbers they could do so by opting in.

For more information, visit maine.gov/education.

Glitch delays collection of student Social Security numbers

Will delete numbers already submitted

By Matthew Stone mstone@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- The Maine Department of Education is telling school districts to hold off on submitting students' Social Security numbers to a state database while the department works out a system error that allowed a school technology director access to restricted information.

The state education department on Tuesday said it is deleting from its data systems student Social Security numbers that have already been submitted and ordering an outside review of the security of its data collection systems.

A technology director for a Maine school district on Friday reported being able to see the Social Security numbers of staff members employed by other Maine school districts.

State education officials say they immediately located the problem and addressed it, restricting access to the staff members' Social Security information. They still plan to hire an outside contractor to determine how the private information became available and how to prevent future data breaches, the department said.

"The department takes the security of private information seriously, and supports school boards, parents and school officials in their caution with respect to the collection of data," Education Commissioner Angela Faherty said in a statement.

The data flap comes as Maine school districts are for the first time collecting students' Social Security numbers to add to a statewide database intended to help policymakers track students' progress throughout school and college and into the workplace.

The Department of Education was to collect the Social Security numbers from districts along with a number of other informational items -- including enrollment and special education data -- that it collects on Oct. 1 of each year.

The Department of Education collects the information through its Infinite Campus information portal, the system through which the technology director was able to view the sensitive information.

"We're grateful that the Department of Education has recognized the seriousness of our data security concerns," said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union, which has been a vocal opponent of the Social Security number collection. "We continue to believe that there are more effective ways to evaluate student outcomes without violating student privacy."

Since the education department started rolling out information about the Social Security number collection, a number of school boards have passed resolutions opposing it. Under the 2009 law, school districts are required to ask for students' Social Security numbers, but parents can decline to share them.

The Department of Education said the technology director's ability to view staff members' Social Security numbers wasn't connected to the Infinite Campus function that would manage the collection of students' Social Security numbers.

"We want to just provide that added confidence with an independent review so people can remain comfortable that we have a secure system," said David Connerty-Marin, a Department of Education spokesman.

Connerty-Marin said state education officials are advising school districts to hang onto the student Social Security numbers they've already collected until the state is ready to accept them, which is expected to be in a few weeks.

The delay in Social Security number collection announced Tuesday is the second such delay since the law passed in June 2009. The Department of Education last September decided to hold off on the collection one more year to allow schools time to update privacy policies.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com

LINK: http://www.kjonline.com/news/glitch-delays-collection-of-student-social-security-numbers_2010-09-28.html

Maine DOE Acknowledges Error in Infinite Campus

Maine DOE Takes Security Steps

September 28, 2010
Maine Department of Education

David Connerty-Marin | Director of Communications | 207-624-6880 (o) | David.Connerty-Marin@Maine.gov

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Education announced today that it is taking several immediate steps to strengthen public confidence in its student and staff data information systems. These include an independent review of the security of these systems, and a decision to delay submission of student Social Security numbers to the state until after they have had a chance to review the security report.

The steps are being taken as the voluntary collection of student Social Security numbers has become controversial in some Maine communities as privacy advocates have expressed concerns about the security of the information and because the Department learned in the past few days of an error within a secondary data system not connected to the collection of student information. The error, which was discovered and immediately fixed, affected information in the Staff Module of the State Edition of the Infinite Campus information system, and allowed authorized users of the system to see information there that should have been restricted. The Staff Module is separate from all other modules in the database and is in the final stages of development and not scheduled to be used for staff data collection until the Fall of 2011.

“The Department of Education will release the findings of the independent review, with specific recommendations for how to proceed in the most secure way,” said Education Commissioner Angela Faherty. It is anticipated the review will be completed in the next several weeks.

The error that was discovered on Friday was found by a technology director for a Maine school system, whose job duties include managing student and staff data in Infinite Campus. The technology director informed the Department that he was able to view Social Security numbers for some school staff in other school systems in the state. The Department was able to identify the problem that day and immediately restrict access to the information.

The Department immediately put in place the following changes:

1. The Department has turned off the synchronization function in the Infinite Campus District Edition so that no locally-entered data can be shared with or viewed by the state or any other user. In addition, we will also delete any student Social Security numbers that have been entered or uploaded into the State system as a result of synchronization so far this year.
2. At the Department’s request, the State’s Office of Information Technology will immediately engage an outside contractor to conduct an independent security review to verify the integrity of the state’s Staff Module where the error occurred, and to further verify that the student data system is secure.
3. The Department will delay collection of student Social Security numbers at this time as part of the October 1 data collection. Districts will be provided a software script that allows them to upload student enrollment data without Social Security numbers. Districts should continue to securely hold the Social Security number data they have already collected for later submission.

“We deeply appreciate that this technology director immediately recognized the issue and called the Department to inform us of the error and it was resolved immediately,” Faherty said. “The Department takes the security of private information seriously, and supports school boards, parents and school officials in their caution with respect to the collection of data.”

Only people with authorized access to Infinite Campus had access to the system, and the Staff Module of the Infinite Campus State Edition is separate from all other modules in the database. The staff module is in the final stages of development and not scheduled to be used by the state for staff data collection until the Fall of 2011.

LINK: http://mobile.maine.gov/e/news/?sid=133822

Maine investigates data security breach

Posted: September 29
Updated: Today at 11:30 PM 

The Department of Education asks schools to withhold student Social Security numbers after a glitch is found.

By Matthew Stone mstone@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Education is telling school districts not to submit students' Social Security numbers to a state database until it works out a system error that gave a school technology director access to restricted information.

The department said Tuesday that it is deleting from its systems students' Social Security numbers that have been submitted and ordering an outside review of the security of its data collection systems.

On Friday, a technology director for a Maine school district reported being able to see the Social Security numbers of staff members in other districts.

State officials say they immediately found the problem and addressed it, restricting access to the staff members' Social Security information. They still plan to hire a contractor to determine how the private information became available and how to prevent future data breaches, the department said.

"The department takes the security of private information seriously, and supports school boards, parents and school officials in their caution with respect to the collection of data," Education Commissioner Angela Faherty said in a prepared statement.

For the first time, Maine school districts are collecting students' Social Security numbers for a statewide database intended to help policy makers track students' progress throughout school and college and into the workplace.

The Department of Education was to collect the Social Security numbers from districts along with other informational items – including enrollment and special education data – that it collects on Oct. 1 of each year.

The department collects the information through its Infinite Campus information portal, the system through which the technology director was able to view the sensitive information.

"We're grateful that the Department of Education has recognized the seriousness of our data security concerns," said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union, which has been a vocal opponent of the Social Security number collection. "We continue to believe that there are more effective ways to evaluate student outcomes without violating student privacy."

Since the Department of Education started rolling out information about the Social Security number collection, a number of school boards have passed resolutions opposing it. Under the 2009 law, school districts are required to ask for students' Social Security numbers, but parents can decline to provide them.

The Department of Education said the technology director's ability to view staff members' Social Security numbers wasn't connected to the Infinite Campus function that would manage the collection of students' Social Security numbers.

David Connerty-Marin, a Department of Education spokesman, said state officials are advising school districts to hang on to the students' Social Security numbers they have already collected until the state is ready to accept them, which is expected to be in a few weeks.

The delay announced Tuesday is the second such delay since the law was passed in June 2009. In September of 2009, the Department of Education decided to hold off on the collection one more year to give schools time to update privacy policies.

LINK: http://www.pressherald.com/news/state-investigates-data-security-breach_2010-09-29.html

Schools in Maine Unable to Enroll Students into Infinite Campus

Due to technical issues with Infinite Campus, the Department understands that the local schools have not been able to enroll students the past few weeks.  However, to be able to meet statutory deadlines critical to the calculation of State subsidy, it is important to adhere to these annual due dates.  Currently, approximately 70% of a school administrative unit’s subsidy is directly related to student enrollments.  We encourage the schools to make enrollment a priority in order to meet these deadlines.

LINK: http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=edu_letters&id=130605&v=article

"We've had IC two years now and we call it Infinite Crapus."

Hate it! 08-28-2010, 04:28 AM Run, run, run! We'v'e had IC two years now and we call it Infinite Crapus. It's horrible for flex grouping because it's a pain to change kids from class to class, when you get new students in you can't put them at the end of the list so it screws up your grades if you transfer from a hard copy gradebook. EVERY year we have to go in and do all this setup on Lessonplanner to allow it to do numeric grades and then we always get the "list". They send out a list of all the people who've done it wrong - of course there's no way of knowing if it's right or wrong until the "higher ups" actually start running the report cards. Last year I got a student in from Mexico after the first 9 weeks so of course there were no grades for her. At the end of the year they couldn't run the end of year grades without something in the spot for the first 9 weeks, so I was told to just make up something and put it there. This came from central office admin!!!!!   READ MORE: http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/showthread.php?p=2012289

So far I’m not impressed with Infinite Campus…

Infinite Campus

So far I’m not impressed with Infinite Campus…

I know, the school year hasn’t even started, and there probably isn’t much data in it yet, and the fact that they misplaced my daughter, and had someone completely unrelated to my family associated with my account (somehow living in my house, with my mobile phone number) is all probably the fault of some human rather than the system itself…

I’m interested to know how much Infinite Campus costs. From my preliminary research, it looks to be expensive. Really expensive. REALLY REALLY expensive. Aren’t there open source alternatives to these things? I mean, it’s not like there’s a need for software like this… it’s only the educational market, how big can that be? I probably wouldn’t mind having my tax dollars used for the development of open source software that pretty much every school district could have the option to use to manage things…

Obviously I’ve not seen the back end of this thing… If it makes life easier for the teachers and administration, that’s a good thing… My opinion is only that of a user. A user who has about 15 minutes of using it. So far… I’m not impressed, but I’ll keep an eye on it. It seems to work for other schools. Maybe it’ll just take time. Hopefully I won’t have to fix things myself like I did with WebGrader.

LINK: http://rasterweb.net/raster/2010/08/20/infinite-campus/

Is Kentucky Considering Dropping Infinite Campus?

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION directing a comparative study of the STIDistrict and Infinite Campus information management systems.



WHEREAS, accurate data is critical for policy-making, budgetary planning, and program management and improvement; and



WHEREAS, an educational information management system should provide a seamless methodology for collecting the data needed by the local school district, the state, and the federal government; and



WHEREAS, an educational information management system should provide the highest levels of security for the data collected; and



WHEREAS, an educational information management system should generate timely data in a manner that is functional, efficient, and user-friendly and eliminates redundancy for all users of the system; and



WHEREAS, an educational information management system purchased for use in the Commonwealth should be cost-effective and include the training and other supports needed by system users; and



WHEREAS, selected pilot districts in Kentucky testing the Infinite Campus information management system have repeatedly expressed frustration utilizing Infinite Campus in comparison with their experience with the STIDistrict information management system;



NOW, THEREFORE,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Senate concurring therein:



Section 1. Staff of the Legislative Research Commission shall conduct a study of the STIDistrict and the Infinite Campus information management systems in order to ascertain the relative merits and costs associated with implementing each system.



Section 2. The designated staff shall coordinate the collection of information from the Department of Education, local school districts, information management system vendors, and other sources necessary for completion of the study.



Section 3. At a minimum, the study report shall include:
(1) A comparison of the similarities and differences between the features and capabilities of the STIDistrict and Infinite Campus information management systems. This comparison shall specifically reference utility and efficiency in collecting data necessary for district, state, and federal program reporting;



(2) A statement of the total cost projections for the phase-in of the Infinite Campus, including the cost of training;



(3) A projection of the comparative costs for fully implementing the STIDistrict or the Infinite Campus information management systems with equivalent features;



(4) A list of which states use STIDistrict or Infinite Campus for information management;



(5) A summary of the perceived benefits and challenges of each system collected from a sampling of Kentucky users; and



(6) Recommendations for consideration by the Department of Education that relate to improving assistance to local districts in the implementation of contracted educational information management systems.



Section 4. The study shall be completed by October 1, 2009, with a written report presented to the Interim Joint Committee on Education by November 1, 2009.



Section 5. Provisions of this Resolution to the contrary notwithstanding, the Legislative Research Commission shall have the authority to alternatively assign the duties identified herein to an interim joint committee or subcommittee thereof, and to designate a study completion date.



LINK: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/RECORD/09RS/HC125/bill.doc

SDCOE Settles Lawsuit Against Infinite Campus - Wins $290,000

Hush money

By Matt Potter | Published Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009

The San Diego County Office of Education has come out the apparent winner in a lawsuit against Infinite Campus, an educational software outfit hired to produce a “student information system” that allegedly failed to deliver. But for some reason, it is trying to hide the news from the public. The story begins back on November 12 of last year when the office filed a breach-of-contract suit in federal court saying that it had contracted with the Blaine, Minnesota, firm to create a computer system that would manage student records for 26 small public school districts throughout the county, along with 12 in Imperial County, 2 in Orange, and 22 charter schools.

The complaint alleged that throughout 2007, Infinite Campus repeatedly promised to fix numerous bugs in the software. “The county was lulled into waiting for a workable system to support its needs,” the suit said, but the company never delivered and ultimately terminated the agreement in April 2008. “As a result of Infinite Campus’ failure to create the system required by the RFP [request for proposal], the county was left without an alternative but to resume a prior method to comply with State Reporting Requirements at great expense to the county.” The software provider responded by filing a counterclaim, alleging it was owed $259,812 in damages.

But on June 9 of this year, according to a settlement agreement obtained from the Office of Education after a request made under the state’s Public Records Act, Infinite Campus suddenly agreed to pay the County $290,000 to end the matter. Details beyond that are scarce, since both Infinite and the County agreed “that they shall not publicize the existence of this Agreement or the terms of this Agreement absent a Public Records Act request, except to their tax accountants and/or attorneys, or as necessary for the enforcement or compliance with this Agreement.”

The parties also agreed “they will not make, or cause to be made, any public statements, disclosures or publications which portray unfavorably, reflect adversely on, or discuss any Party’s performance of any of the prior agreements among the Parties.” The agreement added that “in the event they are questioned” about the case, Infinite Campus and County “will represent that they have amicably resolved their issues with one another and shall not make any additional representations or comments on the subject of said lawsuit or this Agreement.” Neither Infinite Campus nor the office of education responded to requests for comment by press time.

Link: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/sep/09/under-radar-1/


Related Story: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/jan/21/breaking-news-1/

Infinite Campus and the ACLU

MCLU Issues Back-to-School Privacy Alert

August 20, 2009

The Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation says students and parents do not have to provide social security numbers to public schools when asked.

A Maine law passed this spring, An Act To Improve the Ability of the Department of Education To Conduct Longitudinal Data Studies, allows the Maine Department of Education to collect and use students’ social security numbers for tracking performance before and after graduation. The database is intended to link student information between the Maine Department of Education and Maine Department of Labor.

An important provision of the law establishes an opt-in program. Under the opt-in program, parents are not required to provide social security numbers to schools, but rather they may choose to participate. In 1974, Congress passed the Privacy Act (Public Law 93-579), finding that the right to privacy is a personal and fundamental right protected by the US Constitution and when government agencies collect, use, and disseminate private information, privacy is put at risk. In accordance with these findings, LD 1356 specifies that school administrations must notify parents that providing private information, such as students’ social security numbers, is optional.

“The right to privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution,” said Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation. “In the interest of student privacy and to remain compliant with the law, schools must inform parents that this is an opt-in system. Parents do not have to provide private sensitive information about their children.”

The debate over LD 1356 was heated. Proponent Commissioner Susan Gendron said in her testimony that tracking data using social security numbers is “essential for evaluating the effectiveness of education programs and curriculum in impacting postsecondary and labor market outcomes.”

Opponents, including teachers, superintendents, parents and advocacy groups, highlighted the privacy risks with tracking student and worker data using social security numbers. Government agencies are not immune to security breaches. In 2006, the Veteran’s Affairs Administration was blamed for the theft of 26.5 million social security numbers when a disc containing sensitive information was stolen. Breach of information like the social security number would leave students vulnerable to identity theft or worse. Parents and students noted how tracking student data, including incidents of prohibited behavior, with a social security number could have a negative effect, as Congress noted, on students’ ability to obtain housing, employment, or credit. Noting these concerns, schools must ask parents to think long and hard before handing over children’s social security numbers.

“I work with students every day and support their right to succeed,” said Scott McFarland, principal at Mt. Desert Elementary School. “Attaching a 7-year-old’s achievement and discipline information to his social security number is an unfair and unjust violation of her privacy. We need to be advocates for children in a way that will protect their right to privacy and the unnecessary sharing of privileged information. I would encourage all administrators in Maine to let parents know they don’t have to put their children’s privacy at risk like this.”

“Every parent must know this is an opt-in program,” said Brianna Twofoot, Field Organizer for the Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation. “The onus lies with the schools to disseminate accurate information about the program and ensure Maine students’ privacy is protected.”

LINK: http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/mclu-issues-back-school-privacy-alert

Data Collection Sparks Privacy Concerns

Data Collection Sparks Privacy Concerns MT Public Schools

February 10, 2009 · 1 Comment

February 9, 2009
Data collection sparks privacy concerns

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090209/NEWS01/902090302&template=printart

By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor

Montana’s Office of Public Instruction has begun collecting information – including medical data – on students with disabilities, raising some confidentiality concerns among school officials.

“I don’t have any problem submitting this data to the state, but it’s wrong to associate it with an individual student by name,” said Doug Sullivan, superintendent of schools in Sidney.

In addition to a list of the physical and emotional disabilities students have, Sullivan also is concerned that the state requires general income information by asking which students are eligible for a subsidized school lunch, Sullivan said.

“I asked the principal not to disclose some of that specific information about my son, but he told me that could jeopardize federal funding of school programs,” Sullivan said. “But that jeopardizes my right as a parent to control information about my own child.”

Madalyn Quinlan, chief of staff for OPI, said the data is required by the Achievement in Montana system, which is used to assess and track the educational progress of students.

“It’s an accountability requirement for the federal government to ensure we are providing services to the students they’re providing funding for,” said Great Falls Public Schools Superintendent Cheryl Crawley. She said the system’s current security provisions appear adequate to her and her staff.

The program, which collects 108 data sets on each child, is in the fourth year of a five-year contract with the software vendor, Infinite Campus Inc.

“The system for the special education program is just being rolled out this year,” said Bob Runkel, assistant superintendent of OPI.

Information in that system includes individual education programs, in which teachers devise strategies to educate students with a variety of physical, mental and emotional disabilities.

“My point is that that information doesn’t belong to the state, at least not on a personal identification basis, particularly in a state that has so strongly rejected the Real ID program (a national program of standardized identification),” Sullivan said.

Runkel said school officials are sensitive to those concerns.

“Of course we’re concerned,” he said. “We’ve developed a system, keeping privacy and confidentiality of student data in mind, and it has a lot of safeguards built into it.”

“The product itself is actually stored with the state (online) firewall,” Quinlan said. “Any information uploaded from the school districts comes across a secure site, and no information is exchanged via e-mail.”

Additionally, all OPI employees are trained on student confidentiality procedures, she said.

Those measures aren’t enough, according to Sullivan and the board of trustees of the Sidney Public Schools.

Sullivan said he wonders why OPI can’t generate a student identification number and send it to the district, which will then assign it to a student. Once that is done, the district and OPI could refer to that student by the number, with only the district having access to the name assigned to the ID number.

“The (software) product we purchased has the student name as an integral part of the program,” Quinlan said. “And the student name helps us when we deal with the local school district.”

Even if an ID number is created, the information could still be exposed at the district level, said Glynn Ligon of ESP Solutions Inc., a consulting firm in Austin, Texas, that bills itself as specialists in K-12 data systems.

“I personally think the ruse of getting only the ID number goes only so far in protecting the student’s identity, because it still creates a unique record that is linked back to a personally identifiable record at the local level – and possibly elsewhere,” he said. “Plus, within the record itself, there will be, at times, data or combinations of data that uniquely identify individuals.”

Barbara Clements of ESP Solutions added that system hackers tend to be more successful on a local level.

“Frankly, I haven’t heard of any hackers getting into student records at the state level. They are usually high-school students wanting to change a grade, and they are more likely to go after school district systems,” she said. “There is nothing, really, to gain from state records, which contain only a small portion of what is kept at the local level.”

Clements said that other states’ education departments have adopted different strategies to protect student privacy.

“In some states we have worked with, there was concern about collecting the student name,” Clements said. “Those states have generally either collected the student records without the student name or stripped the name of the record when the data are entered into a data warehouse.

“The name is important to ensure that the student identifier is correct,” she added. “Once that check is done, the name is not really needed at the state level. “

It can be a delicate balancing act to meet all the legal requirements and ensure security.

“Many states have collected records … over the years – without the student’s name,” Ligon said. “The real solution is to have a solid, legal, defensible data access and management policy that complies with FERPA (the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act), HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which provides for patient privacy), and your state laws, and allows local policies to be adopted that are consistent.”

OPI officials are beginning to revisit the issue as the current software contract, which calls for the state to pay $435,000 annually, nears the end of its terms.

“We’re doing some research now on what other states with a longer track record have been doing to keep student names separate from ID numbers and accompanying information,” Quinlan said. “There is some precedent for it nationally.”

Additional Facts
Hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Senate Bill 338, which would protect information and court records relating to children with disabilities, at 9 a.m. Tuesday in room 303 of the state Capitol in Helena.

Link: http://axiomamuse.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/data-collection-sparks-privacy-concerns-mt-public-schools/