CHAPTER 356
SB 503 – FINAL VERSION
03/17/10 1014s
13May2010… 1824h
06/02/10 2159CofC
2010 SESSION
04/09
SENATE BILL 503
AN ACT relative to unique pupil identification.
SPONSORS: Sen. Kelly, Dist 10; Sen. Odell, Dist 8
This bill:
I. Requires early childhood programs and postsecondary institutions to submit a report to the department of education containing information on certain pupil indicators and requires the department of education to collect and integrate such information into the data warehouse.
II. Requires early childhood programs and postsecondary institutions to participate in the unique pupil identification system.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/17/10 1014s
13May2010… 1824h
06/02/10 2159CofC
10-2948
04/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to unique pupil identification.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
356:1 Delivery of an Adequate Education. Amend RSA 193-E:3 to read as follows:
193-E:3 Delivery of an Adequate Education.
I. Annually, beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, each school district shall report data to the department of education at the school and district levels on the indicators set forth in this paragraph. The report shall not contain personally identifiable information including but not limited to name, gender, or social security number. The department of education shall develop a reasonable schedule to phase-in the reporting of new data required by federal law. The requirements for data keeping and the form of the report shall be established in accordance with rules adopted by the state board of education. Indicators shall include the following areas:
(a) Attendance rates.
(b) Annual and cumulative drop-out rates of high school pupils and annual drop-out rates for pupils in grades 7 and 8.
(c) School environment indicators, such as safe-schools data.
(d) Number and percentage of graduating pupils going on to post-secondary education, military service, and advanced placement participation.
(e) Performance on state tests administered pursuant to RSA 193-C and other standardized tests administered at local option.
(f) Expulsion and suspension rates, including in-school and out-of-school suspensions, which shall be reported for each school year.
(g) Number and percentage of classes taught by highly qualified teachers.
(h) Teacher and administrative turnover rates at the school and district levels.
(i) Pupil course information.
II.(a) The department of education, with the approval of the legislative oversight committee established in RSA 193-C:7, may implement and report data on any additional indicators deemed relevant to the purposes of this section.
(b) The department of education shall enter into an agreement with the board of trustees of the university system of New Hampshire or the community college system of New Hampshire, or both, if necessary, to determine additional indicators applicable to postsecondary institutions within their respective jurisdictions which are not required under paragraph VI.
III.(a) Not later than December 1, 2003, and annually thereafter, the department of education shall issue a public report on the condition of education statewide and on a district-by-district and school-by-school basis. This report shall be entitled “New Hampshire School District Profiles” and shall be made available at every school administrative unit for public review. It shall include demographic and pupil performance data reported in paragraph I and other relevant statistics as determined by the department of education. Comparisons with state averages shall be provided for all data reported. Comparisons of each district and school to itself based on its own statewide improvement and assessment performance for the prior school year and its most recent 3-year rolling averages shall be provided. Statewide rankings of each district and school shall be provided, including a statewide ranking of each school and school district based on the percentage increase of improvement as compared with the same school district’s performance in the previous year. The report shall be organized and presented in a manner that is easily understood by the public and that assists each school district with the identification of trends, strengths, and weaknesses and the development of its local school education improvement plan.
(b) Beginning with the annual report issued in 2013, the department of education shall include data provided by early childhood programs, districts, and postsecondary institutions.
IV. Data reported in paragraph I shall be disaggregated as required by federal law and shall include numbers and percentages of pupils with disabilities, limited English proficient pupils, pupils in advanced placement programs, economically disadvantaged pupils, and pupils of major ethnic, racial, and multi-racial groups.
V. In order to reduce school districts’ administrative time and costs, the department of education shall develop and utilize user-friendly, computer forms and programs to collect the data set forth in [paragraph] paragraphs I, VI, and VII [and all enrollment and cost data related to determining the cost of an adequate education].
VI.(a) Annually, beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, each postsecondary institution as defined in RSA 193-E:4 shall submit a report, which shall not include any personally identifiable information such as, but not limited to, name, gender, or social security number, to the department of education containing information on indicators in the following areas:
(1) Remedial education courses.
(2) Entry, withdrawal, and transfers.
(3) Degrees and certificates granted.
(b) The department of education shall integrate all data collected into the data warehouse. The department of education shall have access to data solely to conduct studies, track and report annual and longitudinal pupil outcomes, and improve postsecondary readiness, retention, and articulation between educational institutions.
(c) The state board of education, in consultation with the university system of New Hampshire board of trustees and the community college system of New Hampshire board of trustees shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, for developing a form to be used for the report and to establish requirements for data maintenance.
VII.(a) Annually, beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, each early childhood program as defined in RSA 193-E:4 shall submit a report, which shall not include any personally identifiable information such as, but not limited to, name, gender, or social security number, to the department of education containing information on indicators in the following areas:
(1) Program participation.
(2) Entry, exit, and type of program.
(3) Participant demographics as identified in RSA 193-E:3, IV.
(b) The department of education shall integrate all data collected into the data warehouse. The department of education shall have access to data solely to conduct studies, track and report annual and longitudinal pupil outcomes, and improve education programs.
(c) The state board of education, in consultation with the department of health and human services, shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, for developing a form to be used for the report and to establish requirements for data maintenance.
356:2 Unique Pupil Identification; Definitions. RSA 193-E:4 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
193-E:4 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. “Commissioner” means the commissioner of the department of education.
II. “Data warehouse” means the electronic system operated by the department of education that maintains the information about pupils as set forth in RSA 193-E:3, I, VI, and VII. The data warehouse shall not contain the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, social security number, or any other personally identifiable information about any pupil.
III. “District” means a New Hampshire public school district or a district outside of New Hampshire educating publicly funded New Hampshire pupils.
IV. “District of origin” means the district in which the pupil resides at the point at which the pupil first enters the New Hampshire educational system, whether in an early childhood program, district, or postsecondary education level.
V. “Early childhood program” means a preschool or childcare program receiving Head Start or child care scholarship funds, whether licensed or exempt from licensing, or a preschool program operated by a district. Early childhood programs not operated by a district shall report data only for pupils for which Head Start or child care scholarship funds are received.
VI. “Postsecondary institution” means the university system of New Hampshire or the community college system of New Hampshire.
VII. “Random number generator” means the electronic system that creates unique pupil identification numbers and assigns a unique pupil identification number to a pupil when an early childhood program, a district, or a postsecondary institution enters a pupil’s name, date of birth, town of birth, and gender. The system shall maintain that information and the name of the district of origin, and no other information. This system shall not retain the unique pupil identification number.
VIII. “Unique pupil identifier” means a randomly generated number assigned to an early childhood program pupil, a district pupil, or postsecondary institution pupil in order to gather pupil level data.
IX. “Unique pupil identification system” means an electronic system comprised of the data warehouse and the random number generator.
356:3 Unique Pupil Identification. Amend RSA 193-E:5 to read as follows:
193-E:5 Unique Pupil Identification.
I. The department of education shall, using federal funds only, implement and maintain a unique pupil identification system on a statewide basis that complies with the following requirements:
(a) No personally identifiable information about a pupil including [but not limited to] name[, date of birth, gender, or] and social security number, shall be collected or maintained by the state in such a manner as to allow such information to be connected with the unique pupil identifier. Under no circumstances shall the department of education obtain or use a social security number as an identifier for any pupil[, or]. The department shall not use unique pupil identifiers except in connection with the data warehouse and such use shall not be accessible to the public.
(b) The random number generator shall make available to each [school] early childhood program, district, or postsecondary institution a unique pupil identifier for each pupil [enrolled] pursuing an education in a New Hampshire [public school] early childhood program, district, or postsecondary institution. The unique pupil identifier itself shall not permit pupil identification within a sub-category including, but not limited to, early childhood program, [school] district, postsecondary institution, sex, age, grade, or county of residence.
(c) The unique pupil identifier shall be requested and maintained by the early childhood program, [local school] district, or postsecondary institution. The unique pupil identifier shall remain in the pupil’s file throughout his or her [elementary and secondary] academic career in New Hampshire.
(d) Access to the random number generator shall be limited to an early childhood program director or designee, a district superintendent or designee, or a postsecondary institution registrar or designee, and only for pupils [enrolled] pursuing an education in that early childhood program, [school administrative unit], district, or postsecondary institution. Any person who knowingly violates this provision is guilty of a class B felony and may be subject to involuntary termination of employment.
(e) The random number generator shall create and maintain a comprehensive audit trail for all users accessing the [system] random number generator.
(f) The data warehouse shall create and maintain an audit trail for all users accessing secure information.
(g) No person, including an individual, business, government, or governmental entity, shall require an individual to provide a unique pupil identifier as a condition of doing business, providing a service, or receiving a benefit of any kind, except as provided in RSA 193-E:5, I(c). Any person or entity [violating] who knowingly violates the provisions of this [paragraph] subparagraph shall be liable for actual damages or $25,000, whichever is greater, for each violation. Each denial of services or benefits shall constitute a separate offense under this [paragraph] subparagraph.
(h) If a pupil’s records become part of an administrative action outside of the pupil’s [school] early childhood program, district, or postsecondary institution, or a part of any judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding, the part of the record containing the pupil’s unique pupil identifier shall be redacted by the [school] early childhood program, district, or postsecondary institution prior to release.
(i) The information maintained in the data warehouse[, except for the unique pupil identifier,] shall be available to the department of education and to the public using the [same database] data maintained by the department of education. No personally identifiable information shall be required as a condition of access or usage under this subparagraph, nor shall such access or usage be tracked. Under no circumstances shall the unique pupil identifier be made available to [the department of education or to] the public.
(j) Information maintained in the random number generator shall be exempt from the provisions of RSA 91-A.
(k) Authorized personnel at the department of education shall administer and maintain the unique pupil identification system.
(l) The department of education shall provide no personally identifiable information collected pursuant to this chapter, including but not limited to name, date of birth, [gender,] or social security number[, shall be provided] to any person or entity, other than an early childhood program, district, or postsecondary institution authorized to access this data, absent a court order[, and]. Under no circumstances shall personally identifiable information or the unique pupil identifier be provided to any person or entity outside of New Hampshire. Any person who knowingly violates this provision is guilty of a class B felony and may be subject to involuntary termination of employment.
(m) Early childhood programs not receiving Head Start or child care scholarship funds, private schools comprised of kindergarten through grade 12, and all private postsecondary institutions may participate in the data warehouse and random number generator. Participating early childhood programs may volunteer to include data for pupils for which Head Start or child care scholarship funds are not received. Permission of a parent or legal guardian of a pupil enrolled in an early childhood program shall be obtained before a pupil may participate in the data warehouse and random number generator. For the purposes of this section, such voluntary participating early childhood programs shall be included in the definition set forth in RSA 193-E:4.
(n) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (a)-(m), to enable the department of education to ensure the accuracy of the data, the commissioner of the department of education may, in writing, grant individuals access to the data warehouse, including but not limited to, access to the unique pupil identifier for the purpose of connecting information in the warehouse with the random number generator.
(o) At the request of an early childhood program, district, or postsecondary institution, the department of education shall provide pupil-level data from the unique pupil identification system to an early childhood program, district, or postsecondary institution for pupils pursing an education in that entity. The department shall not provide any personally identifiable pupil-level data to an entity not directly involved with the pupil’s education.
(p) New Hampshire home educated pupils pursing an education in a postsecondary institution who have not been assigned a unique pupil identifier may, without penalty, opt out of being included in the unique pupil identification system for postsecondary pupils.
(q) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit institutions in the university system of New Hampshire and the community college system of New Hampshire from exchanging data between themselves without the consent or involvement of the department of education.
II. Notwithstanding RSA 193-E:3, II, the legislative oversight committee established in RSA 193-C:7 shall perform any revisions to this section through legislation filed for that purpose.
III. Any contracts or agreements necessary to implement the provisions of this section shall be approved by the governor with the consent of the executive council, and the fiscal committee established in RSA 14:30-a.
356:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 20, 2010
Effective Date: September 18, 2010