While parents statewide wrestle with the issue of whether they want their child’s student records to be evidence in a now high-profile court case, teachers from California school districts are forced to answer that very tough question.
“I think parents should certainly have the option to opt out,” said 21-year veteran teacher Gemma Abels, who is also the president of the local teachers union. “I think the judge could have ruled to have an opt-in option for parents, but maybe that would not get the real data out there.”
Parents have until April 1 to mail in an “Objection to Disclosure of Student Information and Records” form to the U.S. District Court in Sacramento before attorneys for the plaintiffs begin to analyze the data.
Known as the “Morgan Hill case” for its origins, the California Concerned Parents Association v. California Department of Education has been the talk of parent and school communities throughout the state after a judge recently ruled the release and review of all student records—which includes Social Security numbers and other sensitive information. The records to be reviewed date back to January 2008. The process of viewing such information will be facilitated by a special master information data expert and a judge magistrate.
“It’s outside the confines of school where (parents) believe they have some control of it,” said Abels of why there has been such hysteria since the news broke over Presidents’ Day Weekend.
This type of student education information is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, an argument made by the CDE in their defense against releasing it.
In the case, the CCPA claim an ongoing systemic noncompliance of special education law—including violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—by at least 75 percent of local school districts. They are suing the state education department, rather than those individual districts, for “failing to monitor, investigate, provide services to, and enforce the rights of children with disabilities consistent with its obligations under the law,” according to the court documents.
Claudia Rossi, a trustee with the Santa Clara County Board of Education, said parents she spoke with were more concerned with the privacy issue than the special education services being argued in the far-reaching case. Parents are all for holding the districts accountable but not at the expense of the personal information of their children, she added.
While Abels—a high school English teacher with nearly two decades spent in Morgan Hill—does not discredit or discount the concerns being raised by parents of students with special needs, she believes MHUSD has come a long way in serving its special education population. Certain services for special needs students can “very expensive,” such as simply providing transportation, but the district is “legally bound” to provide them, she said.
“There are rules and laws that the district follows for every (Individualized Education Program), and we try to give each student the least restrictive environment,” Abels said.
An IEP can provide an array of special accommodations and/or services to a student with special needs who is having difficulty learning and functioning in a classroom setting. Parents, teachers, administrators, special needs advocates and other specialized professionals are part of the IEP process.
“For teachers, when you have a special needs student who has whatever disability it is, you have to make sure you know what it is and be informed about it,” said Abels, noting that teachers are held accountable for following the specific IEP guidelines for each child.
The CCPA doesn’t think that’s always the case, and plans to use the data to determine whether students were properly assessed for a particular disability by school staff and if those who were found to have a disability were given adequate services to support their educational success.
While the court battle rages on after being originally filed in 2011 by the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association, MHUSD staff conducted an audit of its special education services two years ago and is now in the process of finishing a self study, according to Abels.
“We will have to wait and see what the data says (as far as the court case), but Morgan Hill is doing something proactive by doing this self study,” Abels said.
The opt-out forms can be found on many education-based websites, including those for the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers, Morgan Hill Unified School District and the California Department of Education.
