Editor,

Paula Noonan’s Oct. 14 opinion article in The Colorado Statesman “Womb-to-tomb surveillance by Dept. of Ed?” included inaccurate information about the Colorado Department of Education’s data privacy policies and practices.

First, CDE does not report individual student-level information to the federal government. In compliance with federal and state law, CDE collects specific data from school districts, including individual student data. However, the data is aggregated at the school, district and state levels before it is submitted to the U.S. Department of Education as required by law. Again, data on individual students are not submitted.

Second, the State Longitudinal Data System Grant Program, also known as RISE, is a series of federal grants to help states develop or improve the data systems needed to measure the success of educational programs. These systems allow CDE, legislators and other policymakers to evaluate the effectiveness of the many educational programs into which significant taxpayer funding is invested.

The department’s SLDS system uses data already collected by CDE as required by state and federal law to measure the success of educational programs. Data is not collected by CDE solely for the purpose of SLDS.

Third, CDE only collects data required by federal and state law, and no one can access the data who should not. Currently, vendors with signed privacy obligations and requirements have very limited access only to contractually specified data, but CDE is identifying additional ways to strengthen the data privacy protections in its vendor contracts.

It is important to remember that the use of education data helps guide parents, teachers, schools, districts and state leaders as we work together to improve student achievement so all children graduate ready for college and career. While using data effectively to guide improvements in education, CDE is absolutely committed to keeping student data safe, secure and private.

Dana SmithInterim Chief Communications OfficerColorado Department of EducationDenver