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District staff defend use of CLEAR search tool for residency checks amid privacy questions
Summary
Board members discussed using CLEAR (a Thomson Reuters search tool) to support residency verification and student supports; staff said only four student-services users would have access, the data are public and the district will fund the purchase with existing PCCD funds.
Student services staff told the board the district is considering using CLEAR, a search product used by other districts, to help locate information needed for student supports and residency verification. Staff said only four users in the district—within the student services department—would have access to the system and that it would be used only for appropriate cases.
The board member asking about the reports described CLEAR as offering contact, basic, individual and company report types. Student services staff said the district would use individual reports for families and that a vendor demonstration had shown how to limit queries to individuals rather than businesses.
Vendor representative (Thomson Reuters) explained that Thomson Reuters provides content-driven legal and corporate search tools and that the district would control which content sets it queries. "It does allow you to select kind of the content criteria that you're looking to access," the vendor representative said.
Staff emphasized that the information CLEAR searches is public but the product provides a stronger search engine. Technology staff said the district plans to consolidate related technology expenses under the technology budget; the board was told that an existing content filter increase would cost about $7,000 and that some purchases would be funded from earlier PCCD allocations.
A board member cautioned there is a "fine line" around privacy and asked the staff to ensure the district would not "cross any lines." Student services staff responded that reports would be run only when a student is flagged and additional supports were needed, and that residency determination can take weeks or months as families and the district resolve where a student will enroll.
The board listed the CLEAR agreement alongside other technology items to be authorized or reviewed, including Lightspeed renewal, PowerSchool add-ons and an AED purchase; staff said CLEAR funding would come from remaining PCCD funds from the prior year.
The discussion ended with the board moving forward with the technology items summary and no public comments on the technology and student-supports agenda.
