In the coming years, parents of students attending traditional K-12 schools in Utah school districts could begin receiving a slew of charter school advertisements specifically targeting their children.
That’s because the Utah State Board of Education is considering enacting a policy that would force school districts to share student information, including addresses and phone numbers, with charters, unless parents opt out. The aim is to make it easier for charter schools to directly advertise to families.
Though discussions are still early, members of the USBE Law and Licensing Committee last month agreed to explore potential options and the associated costs of implementing such a policy.
“My main concern is the cost to the [schools]‚” said state board member Molly Hart. “I’m thinking about the time and, therefore, monetary costs of this whole endeavor.”
According to board documents, the issue was first brought to USBE by charter schools — primarily early college high school charters — that wanted easier access to student information so they could send marketing materials to families. Charters in Utah are public schools, but most are run independently of traditional school districts.
“Historically, that information has been shared,” said Katy Challis, USBE director of privacy, at the November committee meeting. “And in recent years, it’s more common that districts are declining to honor those requests.”
While federal and state law allows for traditional schools to share student data with charters, Utah does not currently have a policy mandating that student data be shared if requested.
Should such a policy be enacted, Challis noted that, “at a minimum,” parents would be allowed to opt out of their child’s information being shared in order to comply with federal law. Specifically, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records, including student addresses and phone numbers.
“FERPA allows states to pass laws that are more restrictive than FERPA, but not less restrictive than FERPA,” Challis explained. “For example, the USBE could pass a rule that more strictly prohibits the sharing of student data, but if they passed a rule that was more permissive than FERPA, FERPA would override that rule.”
The options the board intends to consider involve varying levels of parental consent and also include the possibility of the state managing student data requests instead of local school districts, Challis said.
She and her team compiled seven potential options with estimated costs, ranging anywhere from $0 to nearly $2 million. They include:
USBE sharing family contact information with requesting charter schools in accordance with FERPA (one-time costs ranging between $118,000-$1,613,440, and annual costs ranging between $25,600-$79,000).
USBE sharing family contact information with requesting charter schools for families who have granted consent (one-time costs ranging between $233,800-$1,683,600, and annual costs ranging between $25,600-$79,000).
Requiring school districts to share student information upon request (one-time costs ranging between $78,000-$1,623,360, and annual costs ranging between $0-$1,946,880).
USBE collecting parental consent directly from parents and sharing student information with requesting charter schools (one-time costs ranging from $20,000-$50,000, and annual costs ranging from $41,200-$45,560).
Challis said it’s not yet known how the board would cover any costs if such a policy were enacted. Whether private schools would also be able to access district student data remains undetermined, Challis said.
“In a state that values choice, like we say we do, and the principle of choice, I think it’s disingenuous to not allow or facilitate that choice,” Hart said in November. “I don’t see it as a charter/ traditional [school] issue. I see it as an issue of choice.”
USBE’s Finance Committee was meant to discuss the potential student data sharing options Dec. 8, but opted to skip the item because of time constraints. It’s not yet known when the matter will be brought before the board again.
Correction • Dec. 19, 12:45 p.m.: The story has been updated to reflect that school districts may be required to share student data with charters. Charter schools in Utah are public schools, but most are run independently of traditional school districts.
