Privacy Concerns Arise Over Arizona Education Department’s Data Release
In an unexpected turn of events, the Arizona Department of Education found itself at the center of a privacy issue after the inadvertent release of sensitive information. The department released personal identifiers in a database containing 1.2 million school voucher transactions.
According to spokesman Doug Nick, the data was shared in response to public records requests from local media, including 12News. This coincided with investigative reports highlighting questionable voucher expenditures, such as purchases of luxury items and apparel. You can read more about these investigations here.
The department’s policy, which permits automatic approval for reimbursements under $2,000, was intended to mitigate a backlog of requests. However, Nick noted that these transactions can be subject to review and potential reversal if found inappropriate.
While most personal data was stripped from the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) database before distribution, some instances still included names due to the structure of the data, which required parents or guardians to note what was purchased with the funds. Nick estimates these cases are limited to “dozens” out of the million-plus reimbursement entries.
12News, which examined the database, published details on over 600,000 ESA transactions but avoided releasing any records that directly identified parents or children. Conversely, The Arizona Republic initially published the data without removing personal identifiers. The publication has since retracted the information, acknowledging in an editor’s note that the data contained personal details. Further details on this can be found here.
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