Hilliard City School students' disciplinary records leaked

HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) -- Personal information about students at Hilliard City Schools was leaked to a community member in February, a district spokesperson said.

In response to a public information request, records pertaining to student discipline were accidentally released on Feb. 27, according to a statement from Hilliard City Schools Superintendent David Stewart.

According to the statement, the information request did not target an individual student in the district, but instead came from "a large data pull" that included aggregate student data, professional development records, and district financial records.

"We recognize this mistake's seriousness, and already new protocols have been created to better protect our student information," Stewart's statement read.

The released records -- which have since been destroyed -- did not include social security numbers, birthdays, addresses, or phone numbers, according to the statement.

"We apologize to the involved students and families and will ensure a situation like this is not repeated," Stewart said in the statement.

Stewart's full statement is below:

The district is taking this very seriously.  On the afternoon of Sunday, February 27, we learned records containing personally identifiable information related to past student discipline were inadvertently disclosed to a community member in response to a public records request.  We began working with our team to investigate this situation.  There was no disclosure of social security numbers, birthdays, addresses, or phone numbers.

This was not a request targeting any individual student in the district.  Instead, this was part of a large data pull, including aggregate student data, professional development records, district financial records, and more.  

We recognize this mistake's seriousness, and already new protocols have been created to better protect our student information. 

Our attorney spoke to the recipient of the information and confirmed the records had been destroyed.  We appreciate the recipient's assistance in protecting the data of our students. 

We apologize to the involved students and families and will ensure a situation like this is not repeated. 

Hilliard City Schools Superintendent David Raterman