Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Privacy Mental Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents urge opt-in consent and raise data-privacy concerns over school mental-health services
Summary
At the Jan. 13 Orange County Board of Education meeting, public commenters raised concerns about student data privacy after the PowerSchool breach and urged the district to require opt-in parental consent for school-based mental-health services such as Daybreak.
Two public commenters at the Jan. 13 meeting raised concerns about student data security and parental notification for school-based mental-health services. Jackie Whelan and Jennifer Whelan addressed the board during the public-comment portion, urging the district to require opt-in parental consent for services and to improve communication with families.
Jackie Whelan said the PowerSchool breach has raised community concerns about where students’ personal and mental-health information may be stored and who can access it. "When the PowerSchool information hack came with this community school model, all that information regarding children's personal information and mental health could be anywhere now," Whelan said. She said parents should have to opt in for services rather than opt out because busy parents might miss paperwork and because, she said, some Daybreak services may be provided to students as young as 10.
Jennifer Whelan echoed those concerns and urged that students receiving mental-health services remain part of ongoing communication with parents. "Anything that the children get as far as services, mental health and otherwise, should always be an ongoing communication with the parents," she said.
Board members did not take action during public comment; the remarks were noted and board members said they take public comments into account when considering district practice and policy.
