Personally identifiable information (PII) is information that can be used to trace or identify an individual. In Colorado K-12 education, the term refers to student data collected and retained by public schools and school districts, and maintained by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). This Issue Brief provides an overview of state and federal student data privacy laws.

The privacy rules implementing the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") took effect April 14, 2003. Although the federal HIPAA privacy rule does not apply to workers' compensation insurers, workers' compensation administrative agencies or employers (unless covered in some other capacity), it does affect these groups. These groups, and others, need access to health information to administer the states' workers' compensation...

Recent advances in technology and our ability to use student data to inform instruction and practice have created both unprecedented opportunities and unique challenges for educators. This guidance is intended to assist districts involved in building and using education data systems to develop policies related to data privacy, confidentiality, and security practices. It also includes specific information to guide districts in developing contractual...