Which action would violate confidentiality policies in school administration?

• A. Discussing a student's disciplinary record with the parent of another student in the district
• B. Discussing a student's disciplinary record with the parent of the student involved
• C. Keeping disciplinary records secure
• D. Sharing general policy updates with staff

Answer: (A)

Conf confidentiality of student records means that details about a student’s discipline are shared only with people who have a legitimate educational need to know, such as the student’s own parent or guardian and school staff who work with that student. Sharing a student’s disciplinary record with the parent of another student in the district is an unauthorized disclosure and violates these privacy rules. It reveals private information to someone who doesn’t have a right to it, breaking trust and the policy that protects student information. Keeping disciplinary records secure supports privacy and is exactly what confidentiality policies require. Sharing general policy updates with staff involves non-identifying information that doesn’t reveal individual students, so it’s appropriate. Discussing a student’s disciplinary record with the parent of the student involved is allowed because that parent has a right to know about their own child.