Virginia is for lovers and breaches of children's privacy

Virginia Isn’t Just For Lovers; Virginia Is For Breaches Of Children’s Privacy, Too

Virginia Has a History of Breaching the Privacy of Children

For the second time in as many years, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (VDBHDS) has breached the privacy of children.

October 6, 2021, just one day before the VDBHDS breach, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) announced that it is opening an investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), focused on systemic privacy violations.

Fairfax County Public Schools Violated Privacy of Chesterbrook ES Student and Family

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is at fault for another FERPA violation, this time for a Chesterbrook Elementary School student and family.

The document is a student’s care card, which (depending on the student) can include sensitive information such as medical issues, prescription medications, medical professionals the child is seeing, and so on.

But Wait, There’s More: FERPA Violations at FCPS Continue

July 14, 2021, I published the article “Fairfax County Public Schools Breaches Privacy of Thousands of Students; FERPA Noncompliance Continues”, which details Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) failure to keep thousands of students’ privacy secure.

I found one more breach.

WTF?

Fairfax County Public Schools Breaches Privacy of Thousands of Students; FERPA Noncompliance Continues

June 29, 2021, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) breached the privacy of thousands of students attending South County High School, Hayfield Secondary School, Edison High School, West Potomac High School, Lake Braddock Secondary School, and FCPS Online Campus.

The breach includes the students’ names, their FCPS identification numbers, their FCPS email addresses, the schools at which they are enrolled, the names of their parents and/or guardians, and the email addresses of their parents and/or guardians.

The Perfect Storm: FCPS Video Features FERPA Violations, Teacher Training Issues, Fidelity of Implementation Problems, and Possible IEP Noncompliance

November 5, 2020, Fairfax County Public Schools again violated student privacy and again exhibited issues related to teacher training, a reading-related program, fidelity of implementation of a reading-related program, and possible noncompliance of student IEPs.

These issues occurred during an office hour session with FCPS’s Alice Lima-Whitney, during which she and the staff in attendance discussed the program iLit and how the teachers were progressing with their students.

U.S. Dept. of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office Rules FCPS at Fault for Privacy Breach

June 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) issued a letter finding Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in noncompliance for another privacy breach. The letter was issued in response to a complaint filed in 2019.

Oops! . . . They Did It Again!; Fairfax County Public Schools Continues to Breach Student Privacy

Today’s privacy violations are brought to you by Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) Office of Special Education Procedural Support.

May 6, 2021, Jane Strong, director of the Office of Special Education and Procedural Support, breached a student’s privacy when she emailed six documents related to the student to individuals to whom she should not have sent them.

South County High School Breaches Student Confidentiality Again

5.17.21: South County High School (SCHS) Principal Gary Morris and Due Process & Eligibility Coordinator Dawn Schaefer met with a representative of the U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO). Among other things, they spoke about the confidentiality breaches for which FCPS is at fault, and for which the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has repeatedly found FCPS in noncompliance (See “FCPS Report Card”)

5.21.21: Just four days after FCPS spoke with USDOE SPPO, SCHS staff member Tina Wrubluski violated the privacy of numerous students when she shared her computer screen during an IEP meeting. Although numerous people kept trying to obtain her attention, Tina continued working away, making document folders about specific students available for viewing.