District 219 Considers Policy to Prevent Identity Theft

Technology has changed the way the world works, with electronic communications and networking connecting everyone from suburban school board members to criminals who prey on unsuspecting victims, stealing their identities and credit ratings and taking them for thousands before they are even aware a crime has taken place.

New and amended policies under consideration by the Niles Township District 219 school board are meant to address those issues.

One new policy, mandated by the state, requires the district to limit its use of Social Security numbers to the functions required by federal and state law, and to safeguard the Social Security numbers it does collect.

The policy had its first reading April 11. The school board cannot formally approve it until after a second reading.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Trade Commission, Social Security numbers are key pieces of information for identity thieves, who can use them to open credit cards and other accounts in victims’ names.

The Social Security Administration issues the nine-digit numbers to keep track of individual earnings, among other purposes. Employers must collect and use them when people are hired.

Under the proposed policy, all employees having access to Social Security numbers in the course of performing their duties will be trained to protect their confidentiality from the time they are collected through the time they are destroyed. Only employees who are required to use or handle information or documents that contain social security numbers shall have access to such information, and Social Security numbers requested from an individual shall be provided in a manner that makes the Social Security number easily redacted if the record is required to be released as part of a public records request.

The district also must disclose the purpose for which it is collecting and using Social Security numbers when it asks for them.

The district also is considering a change to a policy that will clarify how school board members may communicate with one another. The proposed policy changes the phrase  “electronic mail” to “electronic communications” and includes Facebook and other social networks, instant messaging, texting and other forms of communication.

School board members must be careful how they communicate with one another outside of a public meeting so as to avoid violations of the Open Meetings Act, said school board president Robert Silverman.

The discussion at District 219 came about a month after the Illinois attorney general’s office issued an opinion that the New Trier High School District 203 board violated the Open Meetings Act last May. However, that was not a case of improper electronic communication; according to the attorney general, the board discussed matters in closed session that should have been discussed in open session.