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<p>We had to sign releases permitting our children’s former schools to share their school records with their new schools. </p>
<p>We found in the public schools information was not shared in a timely fashion, due to FERPA. The news descriptions don’t allow me to judge how they get around FERPA. I would not want my children’s teachers’ opinions to be used by for-profit companies. Sorry. Not o.k. </p>
<p>Supposedly confidential medical records have shown up in strange places on multiple occasions in the past. Why should I assume the records will always be accurate, when they’d pass through multiple hands without our knowledge? </p>
<p>A lot of serious thought has been given to the issue of preserving patient confidentiality in the era of computerized records. See: <a href=“http://www.hlpronline.com/kendall.pdf[/url]”>http://www.hlpronline.com/kendall.pdf</a>. In my opinion, many of the same issues apply to school records. Those records are full of individual judgements of students, which may or may not be accurate. As described in the news releases, there seems to be little thought given to the cost to the individual student inherent in the loss of privacy. Will parents find ads for national tutoring chains in their mail? Will certain opportunities be offered to students identified as deserving by the database? Will other students find doors closed to them, because their 6th grade teachers didn’t like them?</p>
<p>Now, if they remove the link to the child’s name, address, social security number, and family background, and sever it from the student’s academic records presented for admission to college, graduate school, and employment, I might feel differently.</p>