Do you have a strategy for end-of-year school records?
Another school year has come and gone, and there’s no doubt that this year was perhaps the most memorable one for many of us!
While many things about this school year were quite different, some things remain the same, including the duty of schools to appropriately handle school records and other documents with confidential student information.
The first and most important policy is education. Yes, we’re talking about educating the educators! But school administrators should communicate their destruction and retention policy for student records and information and the consequences of failure to comply. Student records are subject to many laws and regulations, including The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), so proper handling is not only good practice – it’s required.
After education comes action. We typically recommend schools engage Secure Records Solutions in an end-of-the-year purge program to make sure all documents are taken care of before summer starts. If your school was still engaged in remote learning, this is especially important.
Remote learning should NOT equal remote shredding!
Simply put, all shredders are not created equally. The average desktop shredder can shred around 10 sheets of paper per pass. And before they can go through the shredder, binder clips, staples, and bands will have to be removed. Secure Records Solution’s shredder can destroy 350 sheets of paper per pass; that equates to 2.5 tons of paper per hour – without the hassle of removing staples, binder clips or rubber bands.
Furthermore, most in-home shredders do not adhere to proper standards. There are seven different shredder security levels – known as levels P-1 through P-7 – ranked based on the width of the paper shreds. The thinner the shreds the higher level of protection and privacy. Do you know where your office shredder falls in this category? As a NAID AAA certified shredding provider, Secure Records Solutions destroys sensitive student records using the industry’s most stringent standards. Furthermore, the school will receive a certification of destruction to have for your records.
Secure Records Solutions would be happy to arrange an onsite purge or even bring out one of our mobile shredding trucks to your school location to offer your teachers and staff a secure way to destroy sensitive information and ensure your school remains compliant. Whether you were in-person, remote, or a combination this year, it’s important to remain compliant and ensure sensitive student information is properly destroyed.
Contact Secure Records today to arrange a shredding solution that meets your teacher and staff’s needs before everyone enjoys a much-needed summer vacation!
