COLORADO COMPUTER STOLEN FROM SCHOOL CONTAINING CHILDRENS PRIVATE DATATheDenverChannel.com - 7News Investigates - Schools Inform Parents About Autism Study After 7NEWS InvestigationSchools Inform Parents About Autism Study After 7NEWS Investigation
Districts Had Not Told Parents About Child's Participation In Study

POSTED: 11:47 am MDT May 4, 2005
UPDATED: 1:54 pm MDT May 4, 2005

DENVER -- Several school districts are rethinking their privacy policies in the wake of a 7NEWS investigation.

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A state health department computer containing confidential information about students was stolen and has not been recovered. Following a 7NEWS report, more parents will be getting letters about the matter.

The Colorado Department of Health and Environment has collected private information on hundreds of families and children from school districts and hospitals as part of a study on autism.

"We're doing this to better understand the prevalence of a condition that we know very little about, that people are very concerned about. The prevalence of this condition is thought to be rising here and in other countries in the world, and we don't know why," said Dr. Lisa Miller with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

Some of the confidential data was entered into a laptop computer -- a computer that was stolen from a health department employee who left it in her car at her apartment parking lot.

But when officials of the four school districts involved in the study found out about the theft, they withheld the information from parents. That's because they had never informed parents they were collecting the information in the first place.

But after our investigation revealed the stolen computer, Cherry Creek School District officials said they made an error.

Ed Steinberg, who heads the district's special education department, said ethically, the district does have a responsibility to inform parents.

He said more than 350 files were turned over -- 64 were chosen for the study.

"We will be sending letter to each and every one of those families," said Steinberg.

As a result of 7NEWS' investigation, the state health department is turning over the names of all district children whose information was in the stolen computer.

"In future practice, we will be informing parents of any type of study which involves their children," Steinberg said.

Other school districts are also reviewing their notification policies. Only one school district -- Littleton -- had informed parents before it turned records over to the state health department.

Concerned about the security of its data, Littleton School District has now decided to pull out of the study.