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Trustees approve K12 Strong Workforce data‑sharing agreement after privacy questions; staff to report back
Summary
The board approved a data‑sharing agreement with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (K12 Strong Workforce/MDCP) to support CTE pathway reporting, after trustees voiced concerns about the scope of student data requested and asked staff to return with FERPA/consent clarifications.
The Barstow Unified School District Board of Trustees voted to approve a data‑sharing agreement with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the MDCP consortium to support career and technical education (CTE) pathway reporting, but several trustees pressed staff for details about what student information would be shared and whether parental consent is required.
District staff described the agreement as an annual reporting arrangement to collect and report course completion and pathway participation data so programs can be coordinated with regional workforce and education partners. “The primary purpose of this is to collect, maintain and report data to facilitate program coordination and alignment with other workforce training, education and employment services,” staff said, adding the consortium has supported the district’s CTE pathways for several years.
Trustees raised concerns about the specific data fields the agreement requested, including course completion, student progress and disciplinary incidents. One trustee asked whether the district needed parental permission to share incident or disciplinary information and called the requested fields “a lot of personal data.” District staff replied that reporting typically follows FERPA protections and that much reporting is aggregated (for example, “ninth‑grade Hispanic student in Barstow” rather than an individual name or SSN), and offered to research consent requirements and return with a Friday report.
The motion to approve the agreement carried with one trustee recorded as opposed. Trustees asked staff to clarify why certain data elements are needed, whether data are shared in identifiable form, and what safeguards and audit procedures the consortium applies.
What happens next: staff said they will research the consent and legal requirements that govern the requested data fields and will report back to trustees with clarifications and any recommended revisions to the data‑sharing procedures.
Why it matters: the agreement enables the district to participate in regional workforce planning and to qualify for state and federal reporting related to career pathways, but trustees emphasized balancing program evaluation needs with student privacy and compliance with federal privacy law.
