HILLIARD, Ohio — A request for public information on student performance resulted in a data breach in which the Hilliard City School district said it mistakenly sent the personal information of more than 4,000 students to several people who were on an email chain.
"There was no disclosure of social security numbers, birthdays, addresses, or phone numbers. We recognize this mistake's seriousness, and already new protocols have been created to better protect our student information. We apologize to the involved students and families and will ensure a situation like this is not repeated," said Stacie Raterman Spokesperson for Hilliard City Schools.
Omar Tarazi was one of those who requested the data after he said his request specifically said he's not seeking any personal information but received it anyway.
"It's very serious. Had it gotten into the wrong hands it would have been horrible for the kids," he said.
So, what kind of information did others see that they were not supposed to?
"It was literally every single discipline record for every single student for the last 4 years. Other information like whether they have autism. There is a variety health care diagnosis," he said.
What surprised him even more, he says, was how the information slipped through the district's legal department.
"Yet still they provided all these records at the same time, so that's massive error and multiple checks failed," he said.
The district tells 10TV:
"This was not a request targeting any individual student in the district. Instead, this was part of a large data pull, including aggregate student data, professional development records, district financial records, and more. We recognize this mistake's seriousness, and already new protocols have been created to better protect our student information. Our attorney spoke to the recipient of the information and confirmed the records had been destroyed. We appreciate the recipient's assistance in protecting the data of our students. We apologize to the involved students and families and will ensure a situation like this is not repeated."
Tarazi says the issue of transparency of public records will be a topic Friday morning when those who sit on the policy committee plan to discuss it at the district office.