The Florida Union Free School District, in recognition of the risk of identity theft and unwarranted invasion of privacy, affirms its commitment to safeguarding student personally identifiable information (PII) in educational records from unauthorized access or disclosure in accordance with State and Federal law. The Florida Union Free School District establishes the following bill of rights for data privacy and security, whereupon parents (including legal guardians or persons in parental relationships) and Eligible Students (students 18 years of age and older) can expect the following:
- A Student’s PII will be collected and disclosed only as necessary to achieve educational purposes in accordance with State and Federal Law.
- A student’s personally identifiable information cannot be sold or released for any marketing or commercial purposes by the district or any a third party contractor.
- Parents have the right to inspect and review the complete contents of their child’s education record (for more information about how to exercise this right, see 5500-R).
- State and federal laws, including but not limited to NYS Education Law §2-d and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, protect the confidentiality of students’ personally identifiable information. Safeguards associated with industry standards and best practices, including but not limited to, encryption, firewalls, and password protection, must be in place when data is stored or transferred.
- A complete list of all student data elements collected by the State Education Department is available for public review at http://www.nysed.gov//data-privacy-security or by writing to: Chief Privacy Officer, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234. Parents have the right to have complaints about possible breaches and unauthorized disclosures of student data addressed. Complaints should be directed to:
Dana Castine, Director of Instructional Services/District Data Protection Officer, S. S. Seward Institute, 53 N. Main Street, P.O. Drawer 757, Florida, NY 10921, (845) 651-3095 extension 30006, dcastine@floridaufsd.org
- Complaints can also be directed to the New York State Education Department online at http://www.nysed.gov/data-privacy-security, by mail to the Chief Privacy Officer, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234 or by email to privacy@nysed.gov or by telephone at (518) 474-0937.
- Parents have the right to be notified in accordance to applicable laws and regulations if a breach or unauthorized release of their student’s PII occurs.
- Parents can expect that educational agency workers who handle PII will receive annual training on applicable federal and state laws, regulations, educational agency’s policies and safeguards, which will be in alignment with industry standards and best practices to protect PII.
- In the event that the District engages a third party contractor to deliver student educational services, such contractor and its subcontractors, as applicable, will be obligated to adhere to State and Federal Laws to safeguard student PII. Parents can request information about third party contractors by contacting Dana Castine, Director of Instructional Services/District Data Protection Officer, (845) 651-3095 x30006, dcastine@floridaufsd.org, 53 N. Main Street, PO Drawer 757, Florida, NY 10921 or can access the information on the district’s website www.floridaufsd.org