Legal counsel warns board that proposed incident‑report protocol risks breaching data‑privacy rules

Robbinsdale Area Schools legal counsel reviewed a draft critical‑incident communications protocol discussed at length by the board’s safety and security ad hoc committee and raised legal and practical concerns about distributing identifiable incident details to board members.

Counsel summarized the draft protocol presented to the board: it would have required the superintendent or designee to notify board members by email when certain “level 3” or “level 4” student behaviors occurred (examples in the draft included physical assault, weapons possession, arson, extortion and other serious misconduct). The draft directed that notices include the district building, a description of the incident and whether police were involved, with a detailed written report to follow within five days of the completed investigation.

Counsel told the board that sharing building‑level incident descriptions and details in the way the draft required would likely trigger protections under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act and the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Counsel said both state and federal law limit access to private student and staff data to those with a "need to know" for educational or administrative purposes and warned that, outside limited circumstances (expulsion hearings, pending litigation, or narrow supervisory needs), board members as individuals generally would not meet the legal standard to view personally identifiable student or private staff medical data.

Counsel recommended rescinding or substantially revising the protocol to avoid disclosing identifiable information. Options counsel offered include:

- Provide the board with aggregated, de‑identified quarterly or monthly summaries of incidents by category (counts of suspensions, assaults, weapons incidents, etc.), which allow policy oversight without sharing private data. - Establish emergency notification rules for extraordinary, time‑sensitive events (for example, an on‑campus active‑threat incident or discovery of a firearm) that communicate necessary facts for public safety but avoid identifying individuals. - For incidents that may later come before the board (expulsions, grievances, litigation), provide factual briefings under closed session rules and in consultation with counsel to preserve confidentiality and board members’ ability to act impartially.

Members of the ad hoc safety committee said their intent in proposing the protocol was to avoid board members learning of serious incidents only after they appear in the news and to track whether district safety measures were reducing harmful behavior. Counsel and the administration agreed on the need for better summary analytics and for defined emergency notification language, but counsel urged removing any requirement that the superintendent supply building‑level descriptive narratives or other personally identifying details to all board members by email.

Board members asked for a revised draft that would preserve timely emergency notification while supplying aggregate incident metrics for governance review. Counsel and administration said they would revise the protocol and return to the board with legally compliant options.