A California Court has ordered the California Department of Education to turn over public-school records on millions of California students.   The information includes Social Security numbers, home address, behavioral and discipline information, and mental health and special education records.   Although the California Department of Education has worked to defend the privacy rights of California students, they are required to comply with the court order. 

The decision by the court has privacy advocates concerned about millions of California students whose privacy rights could be jeopardized if exposed to data breaches once the data is released.   To learn more on how a lawsuit by a parent group resulted in the order, a San Jose Mercury News article provides insight into the case.  The article also includes important links to forms for parents who wish to object to disclosing their students' personal information.  The forms must be submitted and received before the April 1, 2016, deadline.   The California Department of Education has posted a Notice of Disclosure of Student Records and an Objection to Disclosure of Student Records in both English and Spanish.