Virginia School District Leaves Students Vulnerable by Posting Crisis Plan Online

Virginia School District Leaves Students Vulnerable by Posting Crisis Plan Online

A Virginia school district publically posted crisis emergency plans to its website.

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • August 15, 2018

Crisis plans that detailed the medical issues of dozens of Norfolk, Va. students and teachers have been posted online for the past year for anyone to accesses, according to a local news station.

Floor maps of the three schools also were posted last week. By making the plans public, the district likely violated student privacy laws and jeopardized the safety of students and staff. The plans have since been taken down.

The state requires every school to develop written emergency plans. School boards must approve those plans annually, as Norfolk plans to do Wednesday, and provide copies to key law enforcement officials. The crisis plans were originally posted to the schools website as part of the agenda for this week's board meeting.

The publically posted plans included names and contact information of people expected to carry out the plan, key locations of people, assembly points, equipment and supplies - all information that the state's model plan suggests should be available.

A district spokeswoman said the plans should not have been posted online.

"It was a page evidently that should have been redacted," Khalilah LeGrand said. "We are removing it immediately and checking protocols to make sure it doesn't happen again. We take very seriously keeping student records private."

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Securing Higher Education: Combating Enrollment Fraud and Empowering Student Financial Success

    Higher education institutions are facing a costly and growing crisis: enrollment fraud. Between 2020 and 2022, the cost[1] of acquiring a new student surged by up to 32%, straining already tight budgets. At the same time, “ghost students” using stolen identities to enroll fraudulently put institutions at even greater financial risk. Read Now

  • How Composable Security Technologies Fortify Campus Safety

    Campus security teams have faced myriad risks threatening the safety and well-being of students and faculty this semester. Leaders have made tough tradeoffs about where to focus and how to channel limited resources to best protect their communities — but they now have a much-needed lift to their toolkit. Read Now

  • How Emerging Technologies are Transforming the School Security Landscape

    Students can't focus on learning when they're worried about their safety. As education systems nationwide face evolving security challenges with limited resources, a new generation of integrated technology solutions is helping schools create safer environments while maximizing staff efficiency. Read Now

  • How to Harness ALPR for Greater Security Efficiency and Collaboration

    Within higher education campus environments, the demand for greater security, efficiency, and resources is ever-present. Many higher education teams are adopting advanced technologies to secure their campus, streamline operations, and continue to best serve their students and faculty. Automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology stands out for its ability to meet a wide range of campus objectives. Read Now

Most   Popular