Federal court orders California to release confidential student information

I'm surprised at what's missing from this article which is clearly written from the point of view of the California Department of Education to scare parents into stopping the court from accessing records. A little obstruction of justice, anyone? BUT REST ASSURED, THE MPCSD IS NOT A PART OF THIS LEGAL ACTION, and that should have been made clear.

Also, the Court is seeking information from parents and organizations about confidentiality concerns, and misinformation or scare tactics that have been used to get them to opt out of sharing records, etc. There's a good chance that they will amend this request for records to include safeguards such as the removal of SSNs and other identifying information.

None of this would be necessary if the CDE hadn't systematically and for years supported school districts who don't provide mandated services to students with special needs. When parents are forced to sue just to obtain fair access to education for their child, the CDE supports the school districts and parents are left to fend for themselves at tremendous expense. It's disgusting, actually. Without being able to show a pattern of abuse through actual school records, this case can't be fairly judged. Hopefully, the Court will find a way to protect privacy and get the necessary evidence.

Just to clarify what seems to be a common misconception. No school districts are part of the lawsuit - it is against the California Department of Education. But every public school student in the state, including any who have attended since 2008, will have their information released by the department. It is information provided to the department by the districts in the past.

As a concerned community member and parent, who is advocating for our students, and as a healthcare provider, who has been retaliated against for disclosing abusive and illegal conduct in our education and healthcare system, I encourage every concerned parent to educate themselves and read the concerns of the California Concerned Parents Association posted on their website Web Link Read the facts and the misleading information posted by the California Department of Education. Concerned parents, who have children with special needs who struggled finding or accessing the special needs programs can become a member and/or contact their legal Representative Rony Sagy at Sagy Law Associates - 415 986-0900
Caroline Vertongen