PogoWasRight - Minors & Students

GPS tracking of truants: privacy vs. practicality

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:09:04 -0400

A story from The New York Times has focused attention on the role that remote monitoring equipment can play in keeping track of school children with a history of cutting classes. Overall, the story has a feel-good vibe, describing how the monitoring helped bring some discipline to students that were otherwise interested in graduating and helped identify a few students that needed more significant interventions. But it also raises questions about various privacy issues that are worth exploring in more detail.

Source - Ars Technica

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When FERPA Affects IT

Sat, 10 May 2008 07:34:11 -0400

In late March, when the U.S. Department of Education released its proposed changes to regulations that govern the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, most of the attention focused on the latitude granted (or, in some cases, reiterated post-Virginia Tech) to college officials for determining in what circumstances and to whom students� information could be disclosed. Since then, both offline and in online list discussions, information technology and network security officers have debated the impact of the rules on more mundane � but potentially just as relevant � functions of colleges� day-to-day operations.

Source - Inside Higher Ed

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World Privacy Forum files comments on proposed changes to FERPA; requests changes to protect student and parent privacy

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:40:28 -0400

The U.S. Department of Education has published proposed changes to its FERPA regulations, FERPA standing for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. FERPA is a significant regulation that controls how students' school records and "directory" information may be shared. The proposed regulations have one item the WPF is supporting, which is that SSNs are not considered part of the directory information. However, other aspects of the proposed regulation still need work to adequately protect students' and parents' privacy interests. The WPF commented in particular that schools should not be allowed to request and then store a full tax refund from parents in order to prove students' eligibility. The Forum also requested that students' electronic identifiers are not included in the definition of directory information. One area of substantial concern is that the Department of Education has not expressly provided that students who opt-out of having their directory information shared should not be penalized for opting out. Currently, the proposed regulations may be read to suggest that schools may be able to deny benefits, services, or even required activities to students who have exercised the right to opt-out of the publication of directory information. FERPA comments may be filed until close of business Eastern time May 8, 2008.

Source - WPF Comments [pdf]

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Huge Databases Offer a Research Gold Mine � and Privacy Worries

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:44:42 -0400

Last month several news organizations reported on the emergence of "fusion centers" � vast data clearinghouses, operated by state law-enforcement agencies, that can instantly call up key personal information on anyone: telephone numbers, insurance records, family ties, and much more.

Source - Chronicle of Higher Education

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MIT Will Release Student Birth Dates, Enhance Opt-Out System

Fri, 02 May 2008 06:36:28 -0400

MIT will release students� dates of birth for statistical purposes, but it will not publish those dates. The release will take place in the fall, following a proposal discussed by Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. Hastings PhD �80 at a meeting with undergraduates last night.

The change would let MIT participate in an information-sharing system used by the 65-university American Association of Universities, Hastings said. It would also let the Institute include student birth dates with census information sent each year to the Cambridge Election Commission; this year, the information was only sent to the city with students� written permission. That census information is used to confirm that people are eligible to vote in Cambridge, and the information may affect whether students are called for jury duty in Massachusetts.

Source - The Tech

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UK: Universities data 'at risk' study finds

Thu, 01 May 2008 10:42:02 -0400

The growing amount of data being held by Britain's universities and colleges is making them a prime target for cyber criminals and putting students and staff at risk of ID theft, it has been claimed.

According to a new study carried out by specialists James A Keller and Melissa Hill, the "dawn of the cyber age" has allowed for data to be shared between departments and therefore allow for the smoother running of universities.

Source - QAS

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Boulder district OKs cell phone search limits

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:29:03 -0400

The Boulder Valley School District won't search a student's cell phone without the permission of the student or parent under an agreement reached with the American Civil Liberties Union.

The only exception is an emergency in which there is an imminent threat to public safety, said district spokesman Briggs Gamblin.

The agreement came out of talks between the district and the American Civil Liberties Union, which sent a letter to the district in October objecting to the actions of officials at Monarch High School in Louisville.

Source - Rocky Mountain News

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Military Test is Mandatory in Hundreds of High Schools

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:45:15 -0400

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery or ASVAB provides the military easy access to more than a half million high school students nationwide. It is one of the military�s most successful recruiting devices. Although the military calls the ASVAB voluntary, many students are coerced into taking it and thousands of high school juniors are forced to do so.

[...]

Although military regulations allow schools to preclude test information from reaching recruiting services, school administrators are often unaware of the option and few elect to protect student privacy. According to data released by the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM) in November, 2007, only 5.7% of the 573,504 students who were given the ASVAB in fiscal year 2007 were tested on condition that their data not be released for recruitment purposes.

Without parental consent, children who sit for the four-hour ASVAB sign a "Privacy Statement" that gives permission to the military to use social security numbers, sensitive demographic information, and test results for recruiting purposes. This practice runs counter to state laws that protect the privacy rights of minors, according to a brief by the National Lawyers Guild, Los Angeles Chapter.

Source - IndyBay.org

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Privacy, security concerns? When colleges require your cellphone number to register for classes [Update2]

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:45:09 -0400

PogoWasRight.org editor's note: the following blog is not one of our usual sources, but is included because it contains correpondence from the university and discussion by students of policies that some may view as a privacy issue:

Check out this bureaucratic bullshit. My wonderful school, NYU, now requires students surrender their cellphone number in order to register for Fall classes. It�s all in the name of safety, of course, as are most attacks on liberty. Think of the children, we�re only protecting you, etc.

I�ve included the full text of the e-mail, if you�re so inclined.

Source - CrunchGear blog

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