It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your child's Social Security number is?

Could a school name be more appropriate: Future is Now. They've put kids' data is at risk NOW.

New Orleans, the nation's first all-charter school district, named the Recovery School District (RSD), reported about 1 1/2 years ago that an audit revealed $2.7 million in RSD property was missing--"things like computers and equipment." Superintendent Patrick Dobard said that the audit's finding was misleading, that "70 percent of the items listed as missing have incorrect location codes -- but are still present in schools."

Complete with student data.

When the Future is Now (formerly known as Green Dot America), operated by Steve Barr, took over an historic New Orleans school in 2012 (See Ed Week's version: Steve Barr's Quest to Save a New Orleans High School) it received $800,000 in start-up funding, which Barr promised to use for iPads. When the school shut down just two years later, all the teachers lost their jobs and all the students had to find new schools. Barr attributed this to "supply and demand"--just not enough students to make it profitable. Nobody is saying where the iPads are.

Or the student Social Security numbers.

Answering the Where Is He Now? question, on July 30, 2014, California Democrats for Education Reform announced that with their chair Steve Barr they're going to create a political consensus to reform education. No New Orleans teachers need apply.

Footnote:New Orleans Superintendent Patrick Dobard is a Broad Institute alumnus and the district is featured in a Broad Spotlight, December 2012, calling "the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana are one of the most vibrant communities for education reform."

But where is that student data?

by Danielle Dreilinger

State officials announced Friday that the Social Security numbers, names and birthdates of 210 students were left on at least two laptops sold at auction Oct. 11. Those laptops were surplus equipment from the Future Is Now charter group sold after the organization ended its program at John McDonogh High in New Orleans.

In response, the state Division of Administration announced it will now "require agencies to certify electronic media has been appropriately cleared of data before it is reused or auctioned," following Louisiana regulations, said Dickie Howze, chief information officer for the Division of Administration.

Agencies will have to mark computer equipment with a unique ID to show the device has been cleaned, and warehouse drivers will not pick up unmarked equipment. Howze said staff are checking all computers in the property warehouse awaiting auction.

"We really have sincere regret for this error. We own that it should not have occurred," Recovery School District Superintendent Patrick Dobard said.

From now on, his staff will personally inspect all surplus computers. Howze said the system will have to certify that it is meeting the standards before it may auction off any more electronic media.

The security breach was discovered when the buyer of the two laptops notified the Education Department, Dobard said. Since then, staff members have contacted those who bought electronic media that day, and will either buy the devices back or travel to wipe them. The buyers are being asked to sign affidavits pledging they did not use or keep the student data.

Officials are also in the process of contacting the families of all 210 Future Is Now students and have contacted the lawyer in charge of the Future Is Now closeout, Dobard said.

The Recovery system oversees about 50 charters in New Orleans, plus more in Baton Rouge. Every year, a small number of charters have closed. Dobard said his office has trained charter staff on property-disposal procedures but not checked up on devices until now. "We relied on the operators actually following the protocol," he said.

A 2013 state audit faulted the Recovery School District for not being careful enough about handling property. It said 1,633 items had been lost or stolen over a four-year period, totaling $2.7 million. Dobard said at the time that 70 percent of those items were miscoded and still in use elsewhere.

Former Future Is Now spokesman Gordon Wright said the organization had no response because it no longer exists. Chief executive Steve Barr did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


— Danielle Dreilinger with Ohanian comment
New Orleans Times-Picayune
October 17, 2014
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2014/10/new_orleans_student_social_sec.html#incart_river