Gainsville Sun by Eve Rosen/ Fresh Take Florida (AP)
September 11, 2019
GAINESVILLE — Florida is cracking down to ensure school districts, state colleges and state universities are protecting students’ Social Security numbers.
In the past two years, state auditors have found that at least one-third of education employees who had access to student Social Security numbers did not need it to do their jobs. Two-thirds of Florida school districts, colleges and universities were giving too much access to these numbers, a Fresh Take Florida analysis of the audits found.
The audits with a focus on student data protection have so far been completed in counties large and small, from Palm Beach to Franklin County and 48 others in between. Florida’s Auditor General also reviewed 25 state colleges and 10 state universities during that time period.