Millions of California student records to be released to nonprofit

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Personal information for millions of California public students, including Social Security numbers, will soon be turned over to a nonprofit organization representing special needs children.

The Concerned Parents Association was granted access to the information through a lawsuit it filed against the state Department of Education to see if schools are violating federal laws on disabilities education.

The database the group will have access to will contain information, including addresses and educational records, on students who attended a California school since January 2008.

The nonprofit group, however, disputes concerns that information for individual students will be at risk of public disclosure.

In a statement on its website the group says the information will be held under strict security measures overseen by the court and an expert in cyber security.

Additionally the group said the information it is ultimately seeking is not individual students' actual records, but "derivative data" that school districts report to the state. They noted that the information is already available to many state employees and private contractors.

Students and parents can object to the disclosure of their individual data in a form available on the California Department of Education website.