How to Object to Statewide Student Data Release

A recent lawsuit against the California Department of Education (CDE) is impacting all public schools across the state, including those operated by the Ventura Unified School District.

In April 2012, two organizations, the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association and the Concerned Parent Association, filed a lawsuit against CDE regarding compliance with special education laws. As a part of this lawsuit, the United States District Court ordered CDE to release all data it has collected on general and special education students statewide since Jan. 1, 2008 to attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. No data is being released to the public and extensive precautions are in place to keep the data secure. Additionally, the parties are required to either return or destroy the data at the conclusion of the lawsuit.

VUSD schools were not involved in the lawsuit and are not the subject of any of the suit's allegations. VUSD will not be disclosing any student data.

Parents and guardians who want to object to CDE's release of their child’s data to the plaintiffs' attorneys may do so by submitting a form by mail prior to April 1, 2016. Links to the form and additional information about this case are on the district and individual school web sites.

§  Data Release Objection Form: English | Español

§  Court Notice About Disclosure of Student Records: English | Español

§  Statement from State Superintendent of Schools

§  CDE Web Page on the Lawsuit