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Resident says student names, addresses were shared with city committee, cites FERPA and McKinney‑Vento
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Summary
A Lawrence resident told the school committee that materials shared with a City Council budget subcommittee included names and addresses of students experiencing homelessness, and asked whether parental consent, data‑sharing agreements or confidentiality safeguards were in place.
Lenny Sanchez, a Lawrence resident, told the school committee on April 15 that materials discussed earlier this week at the City Council Budget and Finance Committee included names and addresses of students experiencing homelessness and urged the district to strengthen safeguards.
"My understanding is that the materials shared included names and addresses of students experiencing, homelessness," Sanchez said. He added: "This is not just a general privacy issue. It directly implicates both FERPA and the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act."
Sanchez asked the committee whether any parental consents were obtained, what safeguards ensured compliance with confidentiality requirements, whether there was a formal data‑sharing agreement with the city council, and why non‑identifiable, aggregated data were not used instead.
The committee chairing the meeting thanked Sanchez for his remarks and said public comments would be taken "into advisement." No committee member offered a detailed factual response about the specific materials Sanchez described during the public comment period; several members later discussed broader data‑use and training items during the meeting but did not provide the specific documentation Sanchez requested.
The exchange puts a spotlight on two statutory privacy regimes Sanchez named: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the McKinney‑Vento Homeless Assistance Act, federal laws that establish protections for certain student records and services for students experiencing homelessness respectively. Sanchez called for a review of protocols, oversight and accountability for how student data are handled and publicly shared.
The committee did not vote or direct staff at the meeting to release or review the material Sanchez referenced; the public comment concluded with no on‑the‑record assurances that the district would produce a compliance report or the specific files in question. The committee moved on to agenda business after public comment.
The meeting record shows the public comment and the committee's acknowledgement; it does not include copies of the materials Sanchez described or answers to his four specific questions. The committee may address follow‑up in later meetings or in written responses to public records requests.
