Office of Hearings & Appeals - PRIVACY PROCEDURES FOR FILINGS

The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a (2000) requires federal agencies to restrict disclosure of personally identifiable information that otherwise would be made available to the public pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Personally identifiable information includes social security numbers, dates of birth, personal financial account numbers, and home addresses of students or individuals. If personally identifiable information is neither relevant nor necessary to the case, it should not be included in any filing. If such information is otherwise necessary and relevant, the filing party shall remove or partially redact the personally identifiable information. For example, if social security numbers must be included, use only the last four digits of the numbers. Alternatively, an arbitrary student numbering system to identify students at issue may be utilized. Regardless of what system is adopted, the responsibility for redacting the personally identifiable information rests solely with the filing party.


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				Privacy Procedures The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a (2000) requires federal agencies to restrict disclosure of personally identifiable information that otherwise would be made available to the public pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Personally identifiable information includes social security numbers, dates of birth, personal financial account numbers, and home addresses of students or individuals. If personally identifiable information is neither relevant nor necessary to the case, it should not be included in any filing. If such information is otherwise necessary and relevant, the filing party shall remove or partially redact the personally identifiable information. For example, if social security numbers must be included, use only the last four digits of the numbers. Alternatively, an arbitrary student numbering system to identify students at issue may be utilized. Regardless of what system is adopted, the responsibility for redacting the personally identifiable information rests solely with the filing party.