PRIVACY AND ED LAW 2-D

As a parent, you may be aware the New York State Education Department is making a stronger push to monitor the efficacy of school districts in meeting the mandates set forth by part 121 of Education Law 2-D. These actions are being taken by the state to ensure that student (and some teacher) data privacy is being regarded with the utmost security, both in-district and by any approved third parties.

Parent Bill of Rights

School districts and BOCES are required to publish an “Education Law §2-d Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security”.

Parents and eligible students¹ can expect the following:

1. A student’s personally identifiable information (PII)² cannot be sold or released for any commercial purpose.

2. The right to inspect and review the complete contents of the student’s education record stored or maintained by an educational agency.

3. State and federal laws, ³ such as NYS Education Law §2-d and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), that protect the confidentiality of a students’s PII, 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.

4. A complete list of all student data elements collected by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) is available for public review at www.nysed.gov/data-privacy-security, and by writing to Chief Privacy Officer, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234.

5. The right to have complaints about possible breaches and unauthorized disclosures of student data addressed. Complaints may be submitted to NYSED online at www.nysed.gov/data-privacy-security, by mail to: Chief Privacy Officer, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234, by email to privacy@nysed.gov, or by telephone at 518-474-0937. Complaints may also be directed to:

Anthony Vescio, Data Protection Officer
Wynantskill UFSD
25 East Avenue,
Troy, NY. 12180
Phone: 518-283-4600
Email: avescio@wynantskillufsd.org

6. To be notified in accordance with applicable laws and regulations if a breach or unauthorized release of their student’s PII occurs.

7. Educational agency workers that handle PII will receive training on applicable state and federallaws, the educational agency’s policies, and safeguards associated with industry standards and best practices that protect PII.

8. Educational agency contracts with vendors that receive PII will address statutory and regulatory data privacy and security requirements.
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¹ “Parent” means a parent, legal guardian, or person in parental relation to a student. These rights may not apply to parents of eligible students defined as a student eighteen years or older. “Eligible Student” means a student 18 years and older.
² “Personally identifiable information,” as applied to student data, means personally identifiable information as defined in section 99.3 of title thirty-four of the code of federal regulations implementing the family educational rights and privacy act, section twelve hundred thirty-two-g of title twenty of the United States code, and, as applied to teacher or principal data, means “personally identifying information” as such term is used in subdivision ten of section three thousand twelve-c of this chapter.
³ Information about other state and federal laws that protect student data such as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, and NY’s Personal Privacy Protection Law can be found at http://www.nysed.gov/student-data-privacy/federal-laws-protect-student-data.