Concerned parents are being told that their child’s personal school records could be released as part of a lawsuit. Reporter David Haldane explains…
It’s the irony of ironies. Parents concerned about children with disabilities filed a lawsuit alleging that the California Department of Education was not properly addressing their needs. And now other parents statewide could see the privacy of their children compromised.
It’s all part of a 2012 lawsuit filed by the Morgan Hills Concerned Parents Association in northern California. To prove their case, the parents say they need access to students’ school records. So last month the court ordered the statewide release of thousands of documents, going back to 2008, regarding discipline, test results, and medical or mental health assessments, and including names, addresses, dates of birth, and social security numbers.
To be sure, the information isn’t supposed to be shared outside the lawsuit. But that hasn’t been enough to reassure worried parents fearing that it could be abused.
Fortunately, they have until April 1 to opt out via a form available on the education department’s website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/morganhillcase.
