FAMIS CONFERENCE Mari M. Presley, Assistant General Counsel Florida Department of Education June 14,...

FAMIS CONFERENCEMari M. Presley, Assistant General Counsel

Florida Department of EducationJune 14, 2011

PUBLIC RECORDSGeneral Rule: Unless specifically exempted

by statute, a record held by an agency must be released.

An agency is only required to release already existing records; an agency is not required to CREATE a record in order to release it.

If public records are stored on a database, merely EXTRACTING the data is not “creating” a record.

FDOE PROPOSALThe following would NOT be “creating” a

record, and would have to be disclosed upon request, unless exempted by statute:Reports, lists, charts or data stored in tables

and/or files (any combination of elements, sorted in any manner), with no filtered elements. A filter is a subset of a given element.

Reports, lists, charts or data stored in tables and/or files with sums or counts (any combination/sort).

Any previously generated report or dataset, without modification.

FDOE PROPOSALThe following records do not “exist,” and no disclosure

is required:Requests for data/information not currently collected by

the Department (e.g., student’s eye color).Requests that require staff to make assumptions not

specified in the request (e.g., teacher turnover rate).Requests that require staff to create subjective

compilations.Requests that require staff to calculate changes over

time.Requests that require staff to filter one or more data

elements (e.g., % of LEP students who passed FCAT but did not pass CELLA). A filter is a subset of a given element.

Requests that require staff to define calculations not currently used or defined by the Department

FERPAFamily Educational Rights and Privacy Act

General Rule, Personally Identifiable Student records are confidential and must not be disclosed without consent

When is student data personally identifiable?Contains directly identifying or specifically prohibited

data; Contains enough info that a reasonable person in the

school community with no knowledge of the circumstances could identify the student with reasonable certainty; or

Targeted request

DIRECTLY IDENTIFIABLE OR PROHIBITED ELEMENTS

Student’s nameParents’ namesFamily Members’ namesAddress of Student or FamilyPersonal identifiers such as SS#, Student #,

or biometric recordDate of BirthPlace of BirthMother’s Maiden Name

ADDITIONAL MASKING REQUIREDEven if a record contains no directly

identifiable data and no prohibited elements, it may be personally identifiable.

Standard = Whether a reasonable person in the school community without knowledge of the relevant circumstances would be able to identify the individual student with reasonable certainty.

National Center for Education StatisticsSLDS TECHNICAL BRIEF, DECEMBER 2010, BRIEF 3

STATISTICAL METHODS FOR PROTECTING PII IN AGGREGATE REPORTING

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2011603

This brief contains guidance on how to meet reporting requirements of NCLB while maintaining confidentiality under FERPA.

Provides examples of unintentional disclosures with tabular student data and best practices on how to avoid them.

Next slides use examples from this technical brief and explains NCES proposed best practices for REPORTING.

UNINTENDED DISCLOSURESSUPPRESSING SMALL SUBGROUPS BUT NOT CATEGORIES

PercentAssessed

Tested

BelowBasic

Basic

Proficient

Advanced

Hispanic % 100 100 40 50 10 0

N † 10 4 5 1 0

IEP Plan % 100 100 * * * *

N † 7 * * * *The parents of the one student who scored “proficient” will know that all of the other Hispanic students in the population scored less than proficient. This would be an improper disclosure.

Students with IEPs are protected.

Tested Below Basic

Basic Proficient Advanced

Total % 100 7.3 42.7 37.8 12.2

N 82 6 35 31 10

Not low income

% 100 4.1 40.5 41.9 13.5

N 74 3 30 31 10

Low Income

% 100 37.5 62.5 0.0 0.0

N 8 3 5 0 0

UNINTENDED DISCLOSURESUPPRESSING SUBGROUPS + CATEGORIES, BUT LEAVING COUNTS

Numbers in red were originally suppressed, but can be recovered. Anyone reviewing the report knows that all students of “low income” scored below proficient. This is an unauthorized disclosure.

National Center for Education StatisticsBEST PRACTICES FOR REPORTING

NO COUNTS PUBLISHEDBelow Basic

Basic Proficient Advanced

TOTAL 13% 44% 27% 16%

English Language Learner

* * * *

Not English Language Learner

6% 44% 31% 19%


COUNTS PUBLISHED W/ COMPLEMENTARY SUPPRESSION(School 1)Grade 3

# Tested

% Below Basic

% Basic

% Proficient

% Advanced

Total 30 16.7 56.7 20.0 6.7

Male 12 25.0 58.3 16.7 0.0

Female 18 11.1 55.6 22.2 11.1

Low Income

21 * * * *

Not Low Income

9 * * * *

Not Low Income row is suppressed for small subgroup number.Low Income row is a complementary suppression.Result = Data is protected from unintended disclosure, but leads to loss of information.


COUNTS PUBLISHED W/ ADDITIONAL SUPPRESSION

(School 2)Grade 3

# Tested % Below Basic

% Basic

% Proficient

%Advanced

Low Income

14 7.1 21.4 64.3 7.1

Not Low Income

31 0.0 22.6 61.3 16.1

Since all groups at this school had at least 10 students, no items were suppressed.


COUNTS PUBLISHED W/ ADDITIONAL SUPPRESSION

DISTRICTGrade 3

# Tested % Below Basic

%Basic

%Proficient

% Advanced

Low Income

35 17.1 54.3 25.7 2.8

Not Low Income

40 0.0 20.0 62.5 17.5


COUNTS PUBLISHED W/ ADDITIONAL SUPPRESSIONSchool 1Grade 3

# Tested

% Below Basic

%Basic

%Proficient

% Advanced

Low Income

21 23.8 76.2 0.0 0.0

NotLow Income

9 0.0 11.1 66.7 22.2

Since there were only two schools in the district, one can recover the results for the data suppressed on school 1 by comparing school 2 data to the district data, resulting in an unauthorized disclosure.

Therefore, if data is suppressed for one school and totals are provided, complementary suppression for at least one additional school, or for the district, must be made.


BACKGROUND INFORMATIONIn Reports of outcome measures, some schools,

districts, or state level reports contain background information about the distribution of students in separate summary tables. (e.g., total number and percentage of students in each subgroup.)

To avoid unintended disclosure through recovery of masked data, use the following:Use background counts for a day other than the

assessment dateReport percentage performance results in whole numbers Report percentage of students assessed as a whole

number


RECODING THE ENDS OF THE DISTRIBUTION

Many states recode the top and bottom 5% by indicating >95% or <5%

This may result in unauthorized disclosure if the percentage represents a single student.

Therefore, recode as follows:


RECODING THE ENDS OF THE DISTRIBUTION

10 to 20 students, collapse into two categories and recode ≥80% or ≤20% or intervals (e.g., 21-29%, 31-39%..., 71-79%)

21 to 40 students, ≥90%, or ≤10%, or intervals41 to 100 students, ≥95%, or ≤5%, or intervals101 to 200 students, ≥98%, or ≤2%, or

intervals201-300 students, ≥98%, or ≤2%, or whole

numbers301 or more students, ≥99%, or ≤1%, or whole

numbers


SUMMARY BEST PRACTICES

Report the % distribution of students by grade at school, district, or state level in a stand alone table

Report the % distribution of students by subgroup at school, district, or state level in a stand alone table

Do not report details of enrollment data within each subgroup by individual grades.

Use minimum reporting size of 10 studentsUse complementary suppressions where necessaryUse whole number percentages when reporting

outcomesUse recoding rules described above.

FDOE PROPOSED MASKING PROTOCOLS

State Level Data will generally not produce identifiable information and usually does not need to be masked.

District Level Data will be masked according to the protocol if it contains data linked to identifying characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, gender, ESE or other disability status, Free and Reduced Price lunch, Migrant or immigrant status, and ESOL status.

School and Small Group Level – same as district, but avoid fine levels of disaggregation

Individual Student Level – data containing multiple elements for a defined population is usually identifiable and access should be strictly limited.


When masking is required, mask the following: Data containing cell sizes of less than 10

students (including 0)Cell sizes containing percentages, where

underlying data includes less than 10 students (including 0)

Decimal values attached to percentages (i.e., only release whole number percentages)

Individual cell percentages ≥ 99% ≤ 1% of a given population


Complementary masking – if only one value is masked in a given row or column and the masked value could be derived from the remaining values provided, also mask the lowest value remaining in the row or column.

Use consistent format to prevent confusionWhere fewer than 10 students, including 0, use *

or “N/A” to indicate a masked cellUse “≥ 99%” or “≤ 1%” where these are maskedAdd a key to symbols used and explain what

masking technique has been used, and the reason masking was applied.

PRIVACY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER (PTAC)

U.S. Dep’t of Education established PTAC to:Provide technical assistanceProvide a neutral forum for queries about

FERPA compliance (PTAC is NOT an enforcement agency)

Voluntary Review MOU’s and interagency agreements

Offer Helpdeskhttp://nces.ed.gov/programs/ptac/Home.aspx

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONPROPOSED REVISIONS TO FERPA REGULATIONS

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-04-08/pdf/2011-8205.pdf

Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 68 April 8, 201134 CFR 99.3 Definitions

“authorized representatives” – any entity or individual designated by a State or local educational authority…to conduct any audit, evaluation, or compliance or enforcement activity in connection with Federal legal requirements that relate to those programs.

Recedes from prior guidance that authorized representatives must be “under the direct control” of the disclosing agency.

Requires an agreement with the authorized representative If FPCO determines violation by authorized representative,

they will be denied access to PII for five years.


Definition of Directory Information 34 CFR 99.3Would allow an educational agency to designate as

directory information and nonconsensually disclose a Student ID number that is displayed on a student badge if it cannot be used to gain access to student records.

Definition of “Education Program” Any program that is principally engaged in the provision of

education, including, but not limited to early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, postsecondary education, special education, job training, career and technical education, and adult education, regardless of whether the program is administered by an educational authority.


U.S. Dept of Ed Enforcement Authority increased to include any institution that receives funds under any program administered by the Secretary

Limited Directory Information PolicyWould allow an LEA to limit disclosures of directory

information to specified entities or for specified purposes, or both.

Research StudiesClarifies that SEA’s may authorize Research Studies

FAMIS CONFERENCE Mari M. Presley, Assistant General Counsel Florida Department of Education June 14,...

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