To All Manhattan Beach Unified School District Parents and Guardians:
The California Department of Education (CDE) is currently engaged in litigation with two non-profit associations comprised of parents and guardians of children with disabilities. The plaintiffs in that litigation have requested numerous documents, as well as student data collected and stored by CDE, which may include personally identifiable student information. Examples of information that is stored on CDE’s databases and network drives include name, social security number, home address, demographics, course information, statewide assessment results, teacher demographics, program information, behavior and discipline information, progress reports, special education assessment plans, special education assessments/evaluations, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), records pertaining to health, mental health and medical information, student statewide identifiers (SSID), attendance statistics, information on suspensions and expulsions, and results on state tests.
To comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), CDE has been ordered, among other things, to inform parents and students of the disclosure of such information. CDE has requested that school districts and SELPAs post the following link to CDE’s website: http://www.cde.ca.gov/morganhillcase. The link provides a Notice and Objection Form to allow parents to object, by April 1, 2016, to the disclosure of personally identifiable information related to their children. That form is in the news section on our website. We are also posting it on the MBUSD Facebook page.
If you choose to file a Notice of Objection, mail your letter or objection form to:
The Honorable Kimberly J. Mueller
c/o Clerk of the Court
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
501 I Street, Room 4-200 Sacramento, CA 95814
Attn: DOCUMENT FILED UNDER SEAL
DO NOT CALL THE COURT. THE COURT WILL NOT ACCEPT PHONE CALLS ABOUT THIS MATTER. YOUR OBJECTIONS MUST BE SENT TO THE COURT IN WRITING. Failure either to submit an Objection Form or letter to the Court by April 1, 2016 will be deemed a waiver of your right to object to the disclosure of your or your child’s protected personal information and records as described above.
Please understand that the Manhattan Beach Unified School District is not a party to the litigation and is not required to disclose any student information, nor does it intend to do so. For more information, please contact CDE directly at (916) 319-0800.
Thank you,
Michael D. Matthews, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Manhattan Beach Unified School District
325 S. Peck Ave.
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
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