Rules of Privacy

As on-board technology increases, more information is becoming available to guide, monitor and secure school buses. At the same time, questions are increasing on the use of that information and who can obtain it. In these cases, many turn to the rules of privacy.

By Julie Metea

Two teenagers in Glenpool, Okla., were accused of assaulting another student on a school bus. The school district was extremely protective of its on-board security video and decided not to freely share the recorded incident. They would only provide it to police with a subpoena, which arrived shortly thereafter, and the teenagers were charged with assault and battery.

“Our attorney interpreted FERPA, and we acted accordingly. We have to be extremely careful,” said John Barnes, Glenpool’s transportation director, adding that the district will review FERPA again during its annual training.

School districts around the nation are sorting out the issue of protecting student information. While the federal government provides guidelines for building policies, most of the privacy interpretations and decisions are made at state and local levels.
FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. It helps define which school officials may have access to records without parental consent. School transportation representatives fall into this category.

FERPA also gives parents rights to their children’s education records, but there are different viewpoints on the extent of those rights. Parents of students captured in videos of onboard school bus fights have been denied access to the tape. Historically, school districts have argued that these are considered educational records protected under FERPA.

However, there are grey areas that continue to raise questions and draw inconsistent conclusions. Basically, the boundaries are changing. School districts across the nation are finding themselves as referees of incidents on school buses, and their decisions can be as different as the interpretations of student privacy. For example, in Colorado, the Greeley-Evans School District changed its policy to allow parents to see school bus video of their children if they are involved in incidents on a bus. The policy change came after a father demanded to see video of his child that school officials used to suspend him following a school bus fight. At first, the district thought the federal rules prevented it from releasing the video. After an audit, Greeley administrators changed their minds.

“In putting the policy together, we looked at FERPA and checked bigger Colorado districts. Most school districts of our size had parameters to allow parents to view video. We determined it wasn’t violating the act,” said John Gates, director of safety and security for Greeley-Evans.

The video clip shared with the father lasted only 30 seconds. He wasn’t allowed to view the whole ride, and the district edited out images of other students not involved in the incident.

The district is preparing to share its policy with a wider public. By the beginning of this school year, it will send letters to parents and post the policy on a Web page with transportation guidelines.

“It’s an opportunity to list what’s not acceptable on the bus. The benefit of showing the video is relevant, because we want to improve behavior on the bus,” added Gates.

Transporting & Privacy
The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) is doing its part to help define privacy parameters for school transportation representatives.

In May, it responded to the U.S. Department of Education’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning FERPA that set out to clarify who has the need for information to protect students.

School districts can designate bus drivers as a “school official” and provide them information from a student’s education records. That includes student health records covered by FERPA, but not HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protecting participants in the health care system.

Meanwhile, each state’s laws (and, in some states, attorney general decisions) must be considered before making policy decisions in privacy areas.

“The larger district will have a better understanding of the rules. In smaller districts, there’s a fear of doing something inappropriate. By law, we’ve always had the permission, but we’re nervous about interpreting the law,” said Bob Riley, NASDPTS executive director.

Often times, transportation representatives need to be part of the student Individual Education Program (IEP), especially for disabled students who need assistance for a special transportation need. It’s permissible to include transportation if listed as an IEP service, according to Riley.

“The state directors want to make sure that transportation personnel is included to use student information appropriately. We understand the constraints,” he added.

Wider Privacy Challenges
While school districts collect a range of data (GPS, routing systems, video and radio transmissions), there’s an emerging challenge regarding the information collected by student-owned technology. Namely camera-enabled cell phones.

There are increasing new reports around the U.S. of students taking and sending nude photos from their cell phones. The question is whether school officials can intervene and prevent that behavior on school grounds or a bus.

“This is outside of the district’s control. You have to treat it with the same care of privacy, but it’s not as much of the district’s territory,” said Dr. Anthony Townsend, professor of management information systems at Iowa State University.

According to Townsend, if administrators or other school representatives receive suggestive texts or photos, it’s their obligation to take action. Much like reacting to a threat against a school.

In Santa Fe, Texas, for example, police and the school district cooperated to confiscate dozens of cell phones from junior high students after nude photos began circulating on school grounds. Two girls had taken the nude photos of themselves and sent them to their boyfriends, who in turn forwarded them to others.

According to news reports, the officials deleted the photos and disciplined the two girls and the boys who forwarded the photos. So many students received the images that it was impossible to discipline them all.

Such cases, if challenged in court, could set new precedent of privacy standards, according to Townsend.

“Between students, you can’t always control the information sent. But you can ban communication cameras and phones from school property. That’s the best solution for now,” he said.