A Jeffco Public Schools laptop stolen from an employees home is prompting concerns by the school district that sensitive student information has fallen into the wrong hands.
On Monday, Jan. 28, a special education technician had a personal laptop and jump drive stolen during a home robbery in Arvada. The jump drive may have contained the following information for as many as 2,900 special education students:
* Student name and date of birth
* Student ID number (this is not a Social Security number, but rather a school district identification number only)
* School location If the student has received district transportation
* Additional information such as parent or guardian name and contact information, may also have been on the jump drive.
The stolen information did not contain any Social Security numbers or financial information.
The employee traveled to several schools throughout the district and used the jump drive to store the information as a part of the work with special education students.
There is an active criminal investigation by the Arvada Police Department to try and recover the stolen computer equipment.
The school district has also launched an internal investigation and is reviewing current policies that deal with the use of confidential student and parent information.
"We are learning many lessons through this very regrettable incident that will help us tighten our practices as a district," said Community Superintendent Peg Kastberg. "This employee was well-intentioned in storing the information in an effort to support students and teachers. This is an opportunity for us to rethink the way we store data and will help all of us recognize that we can never be too careful when it comes to safeguarding information."