The Maine Civil Liberties Union is advising parents that they don't have to turn over their children's social security numbers to public schools. Under a new law enacted by the Legislature, the Maine Department of Education is allowed to collect and use the numbers to track student performance.
But MCLU Executive Director Shenna Bellows says parents aren't required to turn over the information, despite Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron's assertion that the social security numbers are "essential" for tracking the effectiveness of education programs on students' future success. Bellows says Gendron made the remark at a public hearing on the bill, LD 1356.
"The right to privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution," Bellows says in a press release. "In the interest of student privacy and to remain compliant with the law, schools must inform parents that this is an opt-in system. Parents do not have to provide private sensitive information about their children."
Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin says the social security numbers will help the department conduct the tracking, which he says will help educators better evaluate the effectiveness of education programs. He says the department is prohibited from providing data on individuals across state agencies, and he says parents don't have to provide the social security numbers.
Connerty-Marin says the DOE will provide schools with guidelines on the new law "within the next couple of weeks."