by
Patricia Hendricks
E-mail is a technology application that teachers, administrators, and students consider necessary, not optional. Although e-mail is one of the oldest core applications for most schools and districts, there are timely data retention issues that require a technology leader’s attention. This chapter of the Technology Coordinator’s Handbook describes best practice strategies from the business world detailing what e-mail data need to be stored, data life cycles, and technology storage solutions.
What to Store
Data retention is currently a hot topic for public companies and medical providers due to federal regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [(HIPPA), 1996] and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002). Compliance requires information technology (IT) personnel to work closely with business leaders to develop policies and procedures for storing and retrieving electronic mail and documents. Although schools are governed by the Freedom of Information Act (1970), educational and technology leaders can learn lessons from the struggles and successes of business and health care professionals.
Business and technology leaders have found that they must first develop a document retention policy for all electronic files including e-mail, instant messaging (IM), and digital office documents. Most school districts have retention policies for paper documents. These policies need to be reviewed to incorporate the specific complexities of electronic documents including what to store, data life cycles, and storage tools. Federal regulations and court interpretations have not specified to public schools exactly what documents should be stored or the length of time that these documents should be available for a public records request. However, they have required the districts to have a policy and implement that policy in good faith.
Data retention policies must cover all government employees. Since students are not government employees, student e-mail and IM do not need to be retained. These policies need to balance employees’ privacy with the institution’s obligation to disclose specific records. Willard (2002) suggests the following:
Electronic communications of public employees are generally considered to be discoverable under state public records laws, therefore it could be argued that employees have no expectation of privacy. . .On the other hand, there appears to be a higher expectation of privacy in a person’s e-mail files as compared to records of web searches. . .If there is no expectation of privacy, then how is it that users are asked to establish a password for access to their personal [accounts] and warned to keep that password private? (p. 6).
Thus, the district’s policy needs to be broad enough to protect the institution’s obligations for public records disclosure and discreet enough to protect the privacy of the individual employees. For instance, it may state that e-mail will be stored for a specific length of time but stress that it will not be searched without specific cause or reasonable suspicion.
Leaders also need to develop a channel of internal communication about their data retention policies. These policies should be developed in collaboration with administrators, technology specialists, teachers, and legal counsel, if applicable. Next, technology and educational leaders need to communicate their policies to all faculty and staff members. Each employee who uses the school’s network must understand what is being saved, the length of time electronic documents are stored, and how they will be stored. Willard (2002) believes that district policies related to staff privacy should be addressed in collective bargaining agreements.
In summary, courts have not specified to public schools what electronic communications they need to retain. Districts and schools must make that determination for themselves. However, it is clear that public schools must have a data retention policy that includes electronic communication, and they must implement that policy with good faith.
Data Life Cycles
Best practice data retention strategies are not just about saving electronic documents but also knowing what needs to be saved and only saving what is necessary. Business leaders have learned that saving too much may be as problematic as not saving enough. For instance, if the storage system is so cumbersome that locating a requested communication or document is difficult or impossible, it is tantamount to destroying the data. Therefore, keeping every record forever is not a solution. The storage system must be set up for timely search and retrieval. Educational leaders must decide what data to preserve by deciding which e-mails are important, what search terms should be tracked, and whose files and materials must be kept.
Each electronic document should have a life cycle. Leaders need to separate documents into four classifications:
- Mission critical data include legal documents, policies, procedures, charters, and e-mails documenting specific regulations or requirements relative to these legal documents. For instance, e-mail between school board members and legal counsel about implementation of a specific school policy might be categorized as mission critical data.
- Business critical data are required to perform the business of educating students (e.g., attendance records, grade reports, advancement records, and e-mails relating to the development and implementation of policies that guide the critical business of schools).
- Operation data are necessary for the daily operation of the school and include lunch counts, substitute lists, and e-mails that provide specific information about operation procedures.
- Archival and reference data are used to provide historical or background information about the school. Data retention policies should provide a life cycle or storage length for each of the four classifications.
Technology Storage Solutions
Data storage and archiving applications are one of the fastest growing technology market segments today. Schools have three options for data storage: tape libraries, consolidated backup appliances, and archiving or backup services. Tape libraries have been used for a long time, and many technicians are very satisfied with this storage option. While tapes are relatively cheap and familiar to use, they only solve the storage problem; they do not solve the retrieval problem. Information on a tape can only be accessed by starting at the beginning and rolling through the tape until the desired data are located. If an information request is made to a school, it may be time consuming and costly to retrieve the requested data stored on a tape library.
Many businesses implement a holistic approach to records management, which overlaps data archiving with backup, disaster recovery, and replication. Consolidated backup appliances claim to provide “out of the box” solutions. Good backup appliances can filter and save e-mails based on terms, owners, and file sizes. Additionally, backup appliances can migrate files to a specific array or tape based on the age of the document or document owners. Therefore, a data retention policy can provide automatic archiving for all the district superintendent’s e-mail but only save teachers’ e-mails that exceed a certain size. Despite the increased opportunities that backup appliances provide, IT professionals suggest that schools should proceed with caution. Randy Wilson, VP of Information Technology for the Essex Investment Management Company, suggests that e-mail is a core application for his company. He will not introduce software into a core application without knowing how it will work together. He stresses that although vendors provide claims of integration, they do not have accountability for the client’s e-mail system.
Finally, schools may outsource data retention by hiring an off-site service. These commercial businesses offer a suite of services. An archiving or backup service may be cheaper or more expensive depending on the services selected.
Each of these approaches should be investigated carefully. Business leaders caution that purchasing a solution does not solve the problem, the solution comes in implementing the chosen approach with your practice. Schools and districts should consider their resources, technology practices, and risk when considering a long-term strategy for data retention. Educational leaders are committed to their chosen approach for the entire data life cycle. For instance, if the district’s data retention policy requires specific information to be stored for 10 years, the technology that stores the information needs to be supported for 10 years.
Conclusion
E-mail is the communication tool most likely to be used by online Americans. Madden (2003) reports, “More people use e-mail than do any other activity online” (p. 3). This assertion is also true for students. Lenhart, Rainie, and Lewis (2001) report that 92% of Internet-using teens list e-mail as the most frequent online activity. NetDay (2004) suggests that one third of students in K–3 have e-mail accounts, 45% of students in Grades 4 to 6, and 79% of students in Grades 7 to 12. Individuals at home and at school consider e-mail a core technology application. Because e-mail is almost ubiquitous in public schools, data retention policies must cover electronic communication.
Business leaders conclude that data retention policies should be part of an overall records management system. Three words summarize best practice in data retention: communicate, educate, and investigate. In other words, communicate with a team to develop a policy that will work for your setting, educate all employees about the policy, and investigate and implement storage solutions for your environment.
MAR*TEC is anxious to hear from you. Please share your successes and struggles regarding data retention with other technology leaders in the mid-Atlantic area by e-mailing Patricia Hendricks at phendric@temple.edu
References
Freedom of Information Act (1970). 5 U.S.C. § 552, as Amended by Public Law No. 104-231, 110 Stat. 3048. Retrieved October 2004, from
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996). Pub.L. 104-191. Retrieved October 2004, from http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/admnsimp/pl104191.htm
Lenhart, A., Rainie, L., & Lewis, O. (2001, June) Teenage life online: The rise of the instant-message generation and the Internet’s impact on friendships and family relationships. Pew Internet Life Project. Retrieved October 2004, from
Madden, M. (2003, December) America ’s online pursuits: The changing picture of who’s online and what they do. Pew Internet Life Project. Retrieved October 2004, from
NetDay (2004). Voice and views from today’s tech-savvy students: NetDay national report on speak up day for students 2003. Retrieved October 2004 from
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002). Retrieved October 2004, from
Willard, N. (2002) Safe and responsible use of the internet: A guide for educators. Retrieved October 2004, from
