The Washoe County School District (WCSD) says there was an error in their notification system on Tuesday.
They said parents might have received a text from Coral Academy thorough their SchoolMessenger system that was sent in error.
They said there was a programming error in the process they use to provide data to Coral Academy's parent/guardian communication tool.Â
WCSD says additional data was provided to SchoolMessenger, including some directory information as well as student ID and genders for WCSD students.Â
They said SchoolMessenger has verified that the data did not leave their possession and was immediately and permanently deleted from their systems as soon as the error was identified.
WCSD says they notified parents of the error because the distribution of that information to someone other than a student age 18 or over, or the parents without written consent constitutes a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.Â
They said the District reported this violation to the Family Policy and Compliance Office on Wednesday.
WCSD says parents still have the right to file a complaint with the Compliance Office. They can be contacted with the information below:
Family Policy and Compliance Office
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605
Phone (202) 260-3887
WCSD wants parents to be assured that they take data privacy and security very seriously and we are implementing additional safeguards to ensure this error is not repeated.
SchoolMessenger has also committed to implementing additional safeguards, WCSD said.
