The Department of Education’s ruling on last year’s release of information related to payments from special education funds will surely have parents of special needs students breathing a sigh of relief. The DOE ruled that no information can be released that would make it possible for anyone to determine the identity of students in special needs programs—including the names of parents or siblings, and addresses.

However, there still seems to be some confusion at the state level about just what the laws are, relative to the release of information to the public. Town Finance Director Lorraine Leonard, who issued copies of a number of documents last year in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, consulted with the Department of Public Records on what was permissible to release prior to handing over the records. The guidance she received from that department indicated that the only information that should not be published was student names, and those were redacted from the documents that were released.

Superintendent Thomas Jefferson said he is seeking clarification from the DOE on this. We hope that the DOE will be aggressive in working with the DPR and other state agencies to eliminate this confusion and ensure that all departments are in agreement when it comes to the release of confidential student information.