Information is Everything: Navigating the Changing Legal and Technological Landscape Around Student & Staff Information

Program Overview:

Regardless of your role, as a school employee, you are constantly receiving and interacting with a barrage of sensitive student and staff information. What we do with that information has profound implications for the health and well-being of students and staff members, and has the potential to either reduce or increase potential legal liability for you and your school district.

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, where artificial intelligence and other technologies are transforming how data is gathered, analyzed, and shared, the stakes have never been higher.

This important workshop empowers K–12 district and school teams to navigate the legal, ethical, and technological challenges of managing sensitive information. 

Participants will learn to:

• Responsibly and confidentially manage sensitive information involving students and staff.

• Understand how emerging technologies—including AI—affect legal obligations related to data collection, analysis, and collaboration.

• Proactively create policies and protocols that protect privacy, enhance well-being, and reduce legal risk.

Program Schedule/Agenda: 

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM Understanding the Legal Framework Around Confidentiality & 

Information Sharing - Presenter: David Nash, Esq., Director of Legal Education, FEA

11:00 AM - 11:10 AM Break

11:10 AM - 12:00 PM Breakout Sessions

12:00 PM - 12:45 PM Debrief and Review of Breakout Sessions

12:45 PM - 1:00 PM Questions and Next Steps

Breakout Session Overview:

Group 1 - Information Sharing Regarding School Staff Needs and Performance Issues

Facilitator - David Nash, Director of Legal Education and National Outreach, NJPSA/FEA/LEGAL ONE

Description: In this session, participants will review scenarios related to the management of sensitive staff information, and the legal repercussions when there are breaches of confidentiality and/or failures to share information responsibly. This session will examine the role of the Central Office, Human Resources and other staff in addressing staff needs while ensuring necessary privacy protections, including progressive supervision and staff support strategies, handling sensitive information related to staff health and wellness, and key protocols for interdepartmental communication that ensure compliance and consistency.

Group 2 - Information Sharing Regarding Student Discipline, Safety and Educational Records

Facilitator - Sandra Jacques, Assistant Director of Legal Education, NJPSA/FEA/LEGAL ONE

Description: In this session, participants will review scenarios related to the management of sensitive student information (note a separate breakout examines unique considerations for students with disabilities, 504 plans and health plans), and the legal repercussions when there are breaches of confidentiality and/or failures to share information responsibly. This session will examine the role of school administrators, counselors and other mental health staff, and educators in addressing student needs while ensuring necessary privacy protections, including student discipline and education records as students move up within a school district and when students transfer from one district to another, information sharing with law enforcement and key protocols for interdepartmental communication that ensure compliance and consistency.

Group 3 - Information Sharing Regarding Students with IEPs, 504 Plans and Health Plans

Facilitator - John Worthington, Coordinator of Special Education Law, NJPSA/FEA/LEGAL ONE

Description: In this session, participants will review scenarios related to the unique legal and educational considerations that come into play related to sharing information for students with disabilities, 504 plans and health plans, and the legal repercussions when there are breaches of confidentiality and/or failures to share information responsibly. This session will examine the role of supervisors, case managers, IEP and 504 team members, educators and other staff in protecting the privacy rights of students with IEPs, 504 plans and/or health plans, including information related to student behavior, student discipline, and student medical needs, while ensuring legally appropriate information sharing.

Cost: $160 for single registration. $135 for each additional registration from the same district.

• Other TMI and NJPSA special offers — including, but not limited to, the STAR Advantage, L2L Mentor, and NJEXCEL Student coupons — are not eligible for this program.

• Important Payment Information: If you're paying by Purchase Order, please submit the PO/PO number before the program date to confirm Board of Education approval.

  • All purchase orders should be issued to: The Madison Institute, LLC (d.b.a. TMI Education)

    • Email: support@tmieducation.com

    • Mail: The Madison Institute, LLC, PO Box 922, Madison, NJ 07940

Delivery Format: Virtual

Audience:

• District- and school-level administrators

• Content area supervisors and curriculum developers

• PK-12 teachers

• Instructional coaches

• EdTech professionals

  
  

For More Information: Email support@tmieducation.com.

Introducing your Presenters

David Nash, Esq.

Director of Legal Education and National Outreach, NJPSA/FEA/LEGAL ONE

Mr. Nash currently serves as Director of Legal Education and National Outreach for the Foundation for Educational Administration. His responsibilities include coordinating the efforts of FEA to promote its wide array of professional learning courses, events, programs, and services nationally. Mr. Nash is also responsible for overseeing legal education through the LEGAL ONE (Law, Ethics, Governance for All Leaders, including an Overview of New and Emerging issues) program. LEGAL ONE is an innovative program that provides school law professional development for school leaders and other educators. From 2003 to 2011, Mr. Nash served as legal counsel for the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association. In that role, Mr. Nash provided legal assistance to NJPSA members for legal issues arising out of the performance of their duties. Mr. Nash also served as Assistant Director of Government Relations for NJPSA from 1994 to 2003. He currently teaches graduate-level school law courses at Ramapo College and has previously taught at Rutgers University and New Jersey City University. Mr. Nash received his B.A. from Rutgers University and graduated with High Honors from Rutgers Law School in 2003. While at Rutgers Law School, he served as an editor for the Rutgers Law Review. His prior civic involvement includes six years’ service as a member of the Old Bridge Board of Education, including two years as board president, and service on the Board of Trustees for both Healing the Children New Jersey and Advocates for Children of New Jersey.

Sandra Jacques, Esq.,  LLM

Assistant Director of Legal Education, NJPSA/FEA/LEGAL ONE

Ms. Jacques is the Assistant Director of Legal Education for FEA. She provides School Law Training to school leaders, educators, parents, and other education stakeholders through the LEGAL ONE program. Ms. Jacques practiced law in the Federal and State Courts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where she represented school districts in civil litigation matters, including civil rights, discrimination, and negligence claims. She simultaneously earned a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She holds a Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Trial Advocacy from Temple University Law School. As an Adjunct Professor at both Ramapo College of New Jersey and New Jersey City University, she teaches the School Law Course in their respective Master's in Educational Leadership (M.Ed.) Programs. Ms. Jacques is also an NJ EXCEL instructor and a frequent guest speaker for the NJ Leaders to Leaders Program and the NJ Teacher Leader Certification Program. Ms. Jacques has presented at Conferences for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the NJ Association of School Attorneys (NJSBA), and for numerous New Jersey Education Organizations.

John Worthington, Esq. | Presenter

Coordinator of Special Education Law, NJPSA/FEA/LEGAL ONE

John Worthington is an Educational Law Specialist for LEGAL ONE (Law, Ethics, and Governance for All Leaders, including an Overview of New and Emerging issues) at NJPSA/FEA. John retired as Director of the Office of Special Education Policy and Procedure in the New Jersey Department of Education, where he was responsible, under federal statute and regulations, for operating a system of general supervision and monitoring the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 in New Jersey. As director of OSEPP, John oversaw the operation of multiple systems, including:

Monitoring; Dispute Resolution; Complaint Investigation; Distribution and oversight of the IDEA Part B Grant; Oversight of Approved Private Schools for Students with Disabilities; Development of Policy, Guidance, and Administrative Code; and Special Education Data collection and analysis.