· Section 2-d of the New York State Education Law and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information. Section 2-d and FERPA assure the confidentiality of records with respect to “third parties,” and provide parents with the right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the child’s education records. Exceptions to this include, but are not limited to, school employees, officials and certain State and Federal officials who have a legitimate educational need to access such records. In addition, the District will, upon request of parents, or adult students, or if otherwise required by law, disclose student records to officials of another school district in which a student seeks to enroll.
· A student’s personally identifiable information cannot be sold or released for any commercial or marketing purposes.
· Parents have the right to inspect and review the complete contents of their child’s education record, including any student data maintained by the Catskill Central School District. This right of inspection of records is consistent with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Under the more recently adopted regulations (Education Law §2-d), the rights of inspection are extended to include data, meaning parents have the right to inspect or receive copies of any data in their child’s educational record.
· State and federal laws protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information and safeguards associated with industry standards and best practices, including but not limited to, encryption, firewalls and password protection, must be in place when data is stored or transferred.
· A complete list of all student data elements collected by the state is available for public review. Parents may also obtain a copy of this list by writing to the Office of Information & Reporting Services, New York State Education Department, Room 863 EBA, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, N.Y. 12234.
· Parents have the right to have complaints about possible breaches of student data addressed. Complaints should be directed to: Catskill Central School District Superintendent’s Office, 343 West Main Street, Catskill, New York 12414, Telephone (518) 943-4696.
· Complaints to the State Education Department should be directed to: Chief Privacy Officer, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234; the e-mail address is cpo@mail.nysed.gov.
Additional student data privacy information
This Bill of Rights is subject to change based on regulations of the commissioner of education and the SED chief privacy officer, as well as emerging guidance documents from SED. For example, these changes/additions will include requirements for districts to share information about third-party contractors that have access to student data, including:
· How the student, teacher or principal data will be used.
· How the third-party contractors (and any subcontractors/ others with access to the data) will abide by data protection and security requirements.
· What will happen to data when agreements with third-party contractors expire.
· If and how parents, eligible students, teachers or principals may challenge the accuracy of data that is collected.
· Where data will be stored to ensure security and the security precautions taken to ensure the data is protected, including whether the data will be encrypted.
More information:
· New York State Department of Education: Data Privacy and Security Webpage
· US Department of Education: Protecting Student Privacy Webpage
· U.S. Department of Education press release: Guidance for Schools Issued on How to Keep Parents Better Informed on the Data They Collect on Students