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Board approves data‑sharing MOU with Arizona Board of Regents; one member abstains
Summary
The Tempe Elementary Governing Board approved a memorandum of understanding to share student-level data with the Arizona Board of Regents. One board member abstained, citing an employer relationship with Arizona State University; staff said identifying information is used only to return actionable lists to schools.
The Tempe Elementary School District Governing Board voted Aug. 6 to approve a data‑sharing agreement with the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) to support education research and district reporting.
A board member who identified himself as employed by Arizona State University said he would abstain from the vote because of that relationship but described how such agreements are used: the staff member said researchers typically do not need student names for analysis and that names are included only when information is returned to schools so teachers can identify students. “The only reason why we do collect student names is then when we give it back to the schools, then you have these teachers who are in the rooms and they're seeing, like, we have 70 third graders at this school. Who are you talking about?” the board member said.
The board approved the agreement by voice vote; the public transcript recorded “4 ayes, 1 abstain.” The abstention was recorded for the board member who said he works for Arizona State University.
Board discussion noted the volume of student records involved and reiterated that the MOUs are intended to support district use of returned information for local teachers and counselors.
Next steps: The agreement will allow the district to supply data under the terms of the MOU; staff did not specify the exact projects that will use the shared data at the Aug. 6 meeting.
