Email Use in Public Schools. George Grachis-CISSP

Overview

Basic Points.Liability Issues.Sunshine Law & Email.Public Records & Email.4 Message Types.FERPA & CIPA.

Some Basic Points.

Email has become entrenched as legitimate business communication tool.Courts expect email users to understand the power of electronic communications.

The people who tap the keys must know the laws, not only the attorneys.

Email has become the smoking gun in many recent lawsuits.

Anyone for a swim?

Diving into the public pool of electronic communications lessens your right to privacy.

General Liability Issues.

Who are the actors in Email lawsuits Employers suing

EmployeesEmployees suing EmployersThird parties against Employees and EmployersEmployees and Employers against Third parties

Question.

Can Email be used as evidence in court?

Just ask Congressman Foley He had to step down when evidence surfaced that he sent suggestive & explicit emails to former pages.

Question.

Is there liability for forwarding a confidential or libelous Email?

Yes, The legal test is, You knew or should have known not to forward the Email.

Sunshine Law.

The Sunshine law requires that 1) meetings of boards or commissions must be open to the public; 2) reasonable notice of such meetings must be given, and 3) minutes of the meeting must be taken.

Sunshine Law and Email.

Basically, the law forbids two or more board members from conducting board business via email, or other out of meeting correspondence. This amounts to doing board business out of the public eye.

Public Records.

Public Records" are defined in State Statutes; however, "public records" do not include student records, medical records, trial preparation records, confidential law enforcement investigatory records, records of release of which is prohibited by State or Federal law, and any other exceptions set forth in Florida Law.

Public Records & Email

"Public record" E-mails are viewed as having enduring official significance and set policy, establish procedures, certify a transaction, or serve as a receipt. Note: Public records may contain demographic information.

Message Types.

There are four (4) categories of E-mail retention: non-record messages transitory messages intermediate messages permanent messages

Non-Record Messages.

Personal Correspondences "Let's do lunch" or "Can I catch a ride home" Non-District Publications *“unsolicited promotional material ("spam"), files copied or downloaded from Internet sites, etc.”* Note: Exceptions may exist.

Transitory Messages.

Transitory messages do not set policy, establish procedures, certify a transaction, or become a receipt

“An E-mail message notifying employees of an upcoming meeting would only have value until the meeting has been attended”Note: Exceptions may exist.

Intermediate Messages.

General Correspondence R=1 yrRoutine Correspondence R=6 MoMonthly and Weekly Reports R=1 yrMinutes of Staff Meetings R=2 yrRef: Current Board policy.

R= Retention period

Permanent Messages.

Executive Correspondence R=2 yrDepartmental/Building Policies andProcedures. Retain until suspended or obsolete.

Other Messages.

Not all E-mail messages will fall into these record series. For more suggested retention periods, consult the Board's records retention policy.See Board policies 8310 and 8320

FERPA

Have a student's consent prior to the disclosure of education records; Ensure that the consent is signed and dated and states the purpose of the disclosure. FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to School officials with legitimate educational interest.

Ref: WWW.Ed.gov

CIPA Focus:

Access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet; The safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications; Unauthorized access, including so-called “hacking,”and other unlawful activities by minors online; Unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal information regarding minors; and Restricting minors’ access to materials harmful to them.

Summary

Email privacy is an illusion,Email is a permanent record. It’s often forwarded to unintended recipients. Email can be used in Court. Ref: Congressman Foley case, Chevron case, etcSo, are District Employees sending business related email?Think before you send any email.

BPS InformationSecurity Motto

Users need to know that no matter what physical and Technological devices are in place…Ultimately, It is user Knowledge and Action that will achieve the utmost security for the District.

Questions ?

Thank You