Mom Sues City For Impermanent Permanent Records

A Manhattan mother is suing the city and the Department of Education after discovering that her daughter's high school threw out hundreds of confidential student records into a street dumpster. Connie Click was anonymously tipped off that the School for the Physical City filled a dumpster on E. 25th street with 15 cardboard boxes full of private records last September, as it got ready to move to a new space on W. 14th Street. Those private records included the Social Security numbers, grades, signatures and even psychological reports of former students, including her daughter Skylar, who described herself as "disgusted" at the breach of privacy at the time. But it does leave us wondering: who ratted out the school?

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By Ben Yakas in News on September 12, 2010 6:43 PM

Comments [rss]

PhotoR

I too, am "disgusted" that the school did not recycle.

John L

Not sure which is worst the fact that the DOE doesn't learn from these incidents and train their employees on how to use a shredder or the fact that the city does recycle yet fines its citizens for not recycling.

This might seem like a silly infraction on the DOE's part but this can lead to identity theft. There us no reason not to discard this information properly.

schadenfreudian mensch

I'm not completely sure if it's the DOE to blame as oppose to the principal, assistant principle, etc who set how the school is run. This only reaffirms my belief that the more education you get the stupider you're likely to get.

John L

I worked at the DOE and I can tell you that this is all too common.

I've seen it with my own eyes and not at a school but at the central offices in downtown Brooklyn.