From tomj@wps.com Thu Jul 21 06:44:28 1994 Received: from [140.174.190.102] by fido.wps.com (8.6.5/wps.com-hackery) id XAA24311; Wed, 20 Jul 1994 23:41:14 -0700 Message-Id: <199407210641.XAA24311@wps.com> X-Sender: tomj@fido.wps.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Wed, 20 Jul 1994 23:45:33 -0800 To: shit-list@wps.com From: tomj@wps.com (Tom Jennings) Subject: gotta learn to type! X-Status: Status: OR >From: "D. V. Henkel-Wallace" >Date: Wed, 20 Jul 1994 16:26:08 -0700 >Subject: more fascism on the rampage > >Normally I honestly don't worry too much at most "your rights are in >danger" messages because most of them are just alarmism. But this is >_really_ scary. > > >Date: Tue, 19 Jul 1994 12:42:31 -0700 >From: > >Date: Mon, 18 Jul 1994 18:03:24 -0700 >From: email list server >To: cpsr-announce@sunnyside.com >Subject: Privacy at risk: Educational Records > > > Seattle CPSR Policy Fact Sheet > K-12 Student Records: Privacy at Risk >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >TOPIC > >The U.S. education system is rapidly building a nationwide network of >electronic student records. This computer network will make possible the >exchange of information among various agencies and employers, and the >continuous tracking of individuals through the social service, education >and criminal justice systems, into higher education, the military and the >workplace. > >WHAT IS THE ISSUE? > >There is no adequate guarantee that the collection and sharing of personal >information will be done only with the knowledge and consent of students or >their parents. > >Changes Are Coming to Student Records >National proposals being implemented today include: > >- An electronic "portfolio" to be kept on each student, containing > personal essays and other completed work. > >- Asking enrolling kindergartners for their Social Security Numbers, > which will be used to track each student's career after high school. > >- Sending High school students' transcripts and "teachers' confidential > ratings of a student's work-related behavior," to employers via an > electronic network called WORKLINK. > >At the heart of these changes is a national electronic student records >network, coordinated by the federal government and adopted by states with >federal assistance. > >Publication 93-03 of the National Education Goals Panel, a federally >appointed group recently empowered by the Goals 2000 bill to oversee >education restructuring nationally, recommends as "essential" that school >districts and/or states collect expanded information on individual >students, including: >- month and extent of first prenatal care, >- birthweight, >- name, type, and number of years in a preschool program, >- poverty status, >- physical, emotional and other development at ages 5 and 6, >- date of last routine health and dental care, >- extracurricular activities, >- type and hours per week of community service, >- name of post-secondary institution attended, >- post-secondary degree or credential, >- employment status, >- type of employment and employer name, >- whether registered to vote. > >It also notes other "data elements useful for research and school >management purposes": >- names of persons living in student household, >- relationship of those persons to student, >- highest level of education for "primary care-givers," >- total family income, >- public assistance status and years of benefits, >- number of moves in the last five years, >- nature and ownership of dwelling. > >Many of these information categories also were included in the public draft >of the 'Student Data Handbook for Elementary and Secondary Schools', >developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers to standardize >student record terminology across the nation. State and local agencies >theoretically design their own information systems, but the handbook >encourages them to collect information for policymakers at all levels. >Among the data elements are: >- evidence verifying date of birth, >- social security number, >- attitudinal test, >- personality test, >- military service experience, >- description of employment permit (including permit number,) >- type of dwelling, >- telephone number of employer. > >WHO CAN ACCESS THIS COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION? > >Officers, employees and agents of local, state and federal educational >agencies and private education researchers may be given access to >individual student records without student or parent consent, according to >the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 USC >1232g) and related federal regulations (34 CFR 99.3). Washington state law >echoes this federal law. > >WHAT IS COMING NEXT? > >Recent Washington state legislation (SB 6428, HB 1209, HB 2319) directly >links each public school district with a self-governing group of social >service and community agencies that will provide services for families. > >This type of program is described in detail in the book, Together We Can, >published jointly by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. >Department of Health and Human Services. The book speaks of "overcoming >the confidentiality barrier," and suggests creating centralized data banks >that gather information about individuals from various government agencies - >or in other ways ensuring agencies, "ready access to each other's records." > >The book calls for a federal role in coordinating policies, regulations and >data collection. A group in St. Louis, MO, called Wallbridge Caring >Communities, is cited as a model for seeking agreements to allow computer >linkups with schools and the social service and criminal justice systems to >track school progress, referrals and criminal activity. > >WHAT HAPPENED TO ONE COMMUNITY > >In Kennewick, WA, over 4,000 kindergarten through fourth graders were rated >by their teachers on how often they lie, cheat, sneak, steal, exhibit a >negative attitude, act aggressively, and whether they are rejected by their >peers. The scores, with names attached, were sent to a private psychiatric >center under contract to screen for "at-risk" students who might benefit >from its programs. All of this was done without the knowledge and consent >of the children or their parents. > >CPSR's POSITION > >CPSR Seattle believes that schools other agencies should minimize the >collection, distribution and retention of personal data. Students and/or >their parents should decide who has access to detailed personal >information. > >CPSR ACTIONS > >Representatives of CPSR Seattle have gone to Olympia to: >- oppose the use of the Social Security Number as the standard student > identifier, > >- urge legislators to set educational goals that can be measured without > invading privacy, > >- oppose turning over individual student records to law enforcement > officials apart from a court order or official investigation. > > Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility - Seattle Chapter > P.O. Box 85481, Seattle, WA 98145-1481 (206) 365-4528 > cpsr-seattle@csli.stanford.edu > > > --- CPSR ANNOUNCE LIST END --- > > -- World Power Systems -- San Francisco CA