UPDATE: As of Friday evening, the anonymous request has been withdrawn.
SUNBURY, Ohio — The Big Walnut Local School District in Delaware County says it will fight an anonymous public records request that seeks student directory information for the entire district.
A request sent to the district says, “Please provide Big Walnut’s Student Directory Information as permitted by Federal and Ohio law. Assuming such information is maintained in spreadsheet format, please send the spreadsheet by email. I certify that this data will not be used in any profit making activity.”
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The request provided an anonymous gmail address to send the records.
The issue of the request was brought up during Thursday’s school board meeting by district treasurer Darren Jenkins.
“We have very little latitude under the law for meeting this request,” said Jenkins. “Obviously, that causes us great concern, given society today. We don’t know how they’re going to be used. We’ve consulted with our legal advisors. Mr McLane has contacted our elected representatives to bring this to their attention. As we sit here today, we have very little latitude except to respond to this request.
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Friday, the district posted the following on its Facebook page:
Dear Big Walnut Families,
If you followed our Board of Education meeting last night, you may have heard we received an anonymous public records request for student directory information. Believe it or not, as of now, it seems as though we are required to provide this information.
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Many families are concerned and have reached out to our offices today. You have every right to be concerned. As a parent, I am concerned. As an educator, I am concerned. As someone who tends to have common sense most of the time, I am concerned.
At this time, we have no intention of releasing this information. We have had numerous conversations with our legal team and have contacted our local state representatives and a state senator. This is something that absolutely needs to be fixed at the state level. While the original intent of this law may have had merit, the risk that exists in today’s world is too concerning. I hope that our lawmakers see it the same way.
Again, no student information will be released until we are essentially forced to, and at that time, we will notify our families. I hope it does not get to that point, and I encourage you to contact local lawmakers at the state level. I believe this is an issue we all can agree on.
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Thanks,
Ryan McLane
Superintendent
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Big Walnut Local Schools
Nationwide, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects most student records from disclosure. However, there are exceptions, including one for directory information. Ohio public records law also makes an exception for directory information, however it gives parents the ability to opt out of such a disclosure.
Without the ability to disclose directory information, the district would not be able do do things like publish an honor roll, sports roster, or publicly recognize sports achievements. The board says most parents do not opt out.
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Under FERPA, each year, school districts must define what they consider to be directory information.
If released, the information released four around 4,200 students would include:
- Name
- Address
- Grade level
- Participation in sports and activities
- Height and weight information
- Awards received
- Graduation date
“I would like to know how liable are we going to be if something happens to a group of our students because some pervert had their identity, followed them home, and their parents never saw them again,” said a board member during Thursday’s meeting.
DelawareO reached out to State Rep. Beth Lear. She said her office is working with State Senator Andrew Brenner to help the district determine what steps they may be able to take. If they believe legislation is needed, such a law could only apply to future requests.
“I’m concerned. The role of government is to protect our rights, and especially to protect the rights of those who can’t protect themselves. And I know right now that seems to be what everyone is trying to do,” said Lear. “The parents are rallying to protect their kids. They are doing everything they can to protect the kids. And the elected officials are working to protect the kids. So, to me this looks like we have a community that’s coming together to do what’s right for the youngest of us here in Big Walnut. I’m really encouraged by that.”