National Cooperative Education Statistics System 

The	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics	(NCES)	established	the	National	Cooperative	Education	Statistics	

System	(Cooperative	System)	to	assist	in	producing	and	maintaining	comparable	and	uniform	information	and	data	

on	early	childhood	education	and	on	elementary	and	secondary	education.	These	data	are	intended	to	be	useful	for	

policymaking	at	the	federal,	state,	and	local	levels.	

The	National	Forum	on	Education	Statistics	(the	Forum)	is	an	entity	of	the	Cooperative	System	and,	among	its	other	

activities,	proposes	principles	of	good	practice	to	assist	state	and	local	education	agencies	in	meeting	this	purpose.	The	

Cooperative	System	and	the	Forum	are	supported	in	these	endeavors	by	resources	from	NCES.	

Publications	of	the	Forum	do	not	undergo	the	same	formal	review	required	for	products	of	NCES.	The	information	and	

opinions	published	here	are	those	of	the	National	Forum	on	Education	Statistics	and	do	not	necessarily	represent	the	

policy	or	views	of	the	U.S.	Department	of	Education	or	the	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics.	

February 2010 

This	publication	and	other	publications	of	the	National	Forum	on	Education	Statistics	may	be	found	at	the	websites	

listed	below.	

The	NCES	World	Wide	Web	Home	Page	is	http://nces.ed.gov


The	NCES	World	Wide	Web	Electronic	Catalog	is	http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch


The	Forum	World	Wide	Web	Home	Page	is	http://nces.ed.gov/forum


Suggested Citation 

National	Forum	on	Education	Statistics.	(2010).	Crisis
Data
Management:
A
Forum
Guide
to
Collecting
and
Managing


Data
about
Displaced
Students	(NFES	2010–804).	U.S.	Department	of	Education.	Washington,	DC:	National	Center	for	

Education	Statistics.	

For ordering information on this report, write: 

U.S.	Department	of	Education	

ED	Pubs	

P.O.	Box	1398	

Jessup,	MD	20794–1398	

Or	call	toll	free	1–877–4ED–PUBS	or	order	online	at	http://www.edpubs.org


Technical Contact: 

Ghedam	Bairu	

202–502–7304	

ghedam.bairu@ed.gov


ii Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
TASK
FORCE
MEMBERS



The	Crisis	Data	Management	Task	Force	of	the	National	Forum	on	Education	Statistics	

produced	this	document.	It	was	developed	through	the	National	Cooperative	Education	

Statistics	System	and	funded	by	the	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics	of	the	U.S.	

Department	of	Education.	

Chair 

Linda Rocks 

Bossier	Parish	Schools	

Bossier	City,	Louisiana	

Task Force Members 

Challis Breithaupt Allen Schulenberg 

Maryland	State	Department	of	Education	 Louisiana	Department	of	Education	

Baltimore,	Maryland	 Baton	Rouge,	Louisiana	

Derrick Lindsay Patricia Sullivan 

Mississippi	Department	of	Education	 Texas	Education	Agency	

Jackson,	Mississippi	 Austin,	Texas	

Steve Shiever Earl Watkins 

Crescent	Public	Schools	 Formerly	of	Jackson	Public	School	District	

Crescent,	Oklahoma	 Jackson,	Mississippi	

Consultant 

Beth Young 

Quality	Information	Partners	

Project Officer 

Ghedam Bairu 

National	Center	for	Education	Statistics	

Task	Force	&	Acknowledgments	 iii 
ACKnOwlEdgMEnTS



The	Crisis	Data	Management	Task	Force	of	the	National	Forum	on	Education	Statistics	

(the	Forum)	thanks	those	members	of	the	Forum	who	contributed	suggestions	and	resource	

materials	that	became	the	foundation	of	this	publication.	The	following	individuals	and	

organizations	also	reviewed	the	document:	

Kathy Gosa Steve Smith 

Kansas	State	Department	of	Education	 California	Department	of	Education	

Topeka,	Kansas	 Sacramento,	California	

Jim Addy Jan Rose Petro 

Iowa	Department	of	Education	 Colorado	Department	of	Education	

Des	Moines,	Iowa	 Denver,	Colorado	

iv Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
FOREwORd



The	Forum	is	pleased	to	present	Crisis
Data
Management:
A
Forum
Guide
to
Collecting
and


Managing
Data
about
Displaced
Students.	One	goal	of	the	Forum	is	to	improve	the	quality	

of	education	data	gathered	for	use	by	policymakers	and	program	decisionmakers.	An	

approach	to	furthering	this	goal	has	been	to	pool	the	collective	experiences	of	Forum	

members	to	produce	“best	practice”	guides	in	areas	of	high	interest	to	those	who	collect,	

maintain,	and	use	data	about	elementary	and	secondary	education.	Effective	crisis	data	

management	in	state	and	local	education	agencies	is	one	of	these	high	interest	areas.	

Floods,	fires,	epidemics,	ice	storms,	chemical	spills,	and	other	extreme	events	can	

have	a	substantial	effect	on	communities,	schools,	and	students.	When	a	crisis	shuts	down	

a	school	building	or	otherwise	disrupts	the	education	system,	educators	must	be	prepared	

to	respond	in	a	manner	that	quickly	restores	a	safe	and	stable	learning	environment.	These	

emergencies	can	happen	anywhere,	and	large-scale	crises,	such	as	hurricane	Katrina	in	2005,	

can	affect	schools	and	districts	all	over	the	country.	

In	the	aftermath	of	hurricanes	Katrina	and	Rita,	the	immediate	demand	for	data	

about	displaced	students	overwhelmed	many	school	districts	that	had	gained	or	lost	

students	because	of	the	disasters.	The	scale	of	these	crises	and	their	effects	on	school	

operations	and	management	were	in	many	ways	unprecedented.	This	guide	reflects	“lessons	

learned”	by	the	education	community	and	provides	recommendations	for	collecting	and	

maintaining	data	about	students	who	may	move	in	or	out	of	an	educational	organization	

during	and	following	a	crisis.	The	document	is	not	presented	as	a	comprehensive	disaster	

recovery	planning	tool,	and	it	does	not	address	all	aspects	of	crisis	response.	Rather,	it	

focuses	on	data	management	activities	intended	to	minimize	the	impact	of	a	crisis	and	

help	educational	organizations	quickly	preserve	or	restore	services	to	students	following	a	

crisis.	

While	this	guide’s	primary	audience	is	Student	Information	Systems	(SIS)	data	

managers,	many	of	the	recommendations	will	also	be	useful	to	other	staff	members	

responsible	for	collecting,	maintaining,	and	safeguarding	data	in	education	organizations.	

Members	of	the	organization’s	disaster	recovery	team	should	become	familiar	with	this	

document	as	well.	

In
this
guide


 Chapter 1	defines	the	terms	“crisis”	and	“displaced	student,”	and	raises	key	issues	

that	were	identified	during	past	crises.	

 Chapter 2	recommends	planning	activities	that	should	occur	prior	to	a	crisis,	

including	the	formation	of	a	disaster	recovery	team,	the	assessment	of	existing	data	

systems,	the	implementation	of	placeholders	for	data	about	displaced	students,	

the	maintenance	of	related	data	elements,	a	review	of	the	frequency	and	timing	of	

data	collections,	and	consideration	of	associated	data	policies	and	procedures.	

 Chapter 3	provides	guidance	regarding	the	collection	and	dissemination	of	data	

about	displaced	students	during	a	crisis,	including	the	crisis	declaration	and	

subsequent	data	collection	and	exchange	efforts.	

 Chapter 4	describes	effective	data	reporting	and	evaluation	following	a	crisis,	

including	ongoing	data	sharing,	state	and	federal	reporting,	auditing	expectations,	

suspension	or	termination	of	temporary	systems,	and	process	evaluations.	

Foreword	 v 
 Chapter 5	identifies	several	challenges	specifically	related	to	managing	data	about	

displaced	students,	including	the	implications	of	statewide	student	information	

systems,	the	need	for	unique	statewide	student	identifiers,	the	timing	of	the	crisis,	

and	the	implementation	of	displacement	status	records.	

 Chapter 6	presents	the	document’s	recommendations	and	suggested	timeline	in	

the	form	of	a	checklist	of	action	items.	

 Appendix A	lists	other	related	materials	available	from	the	National	Forum	on	

Education	Statistics	(the	Forum)	and	the	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics	

(NCES).	

 Appendix B	provides	a	synopsis	of	relevant	federal	laws	as	they	relate	to	privacy	

and	homelessness	and	affect	displaced	students.	

 Appendix C	is	a	glossary	that	defines	terminology	used	in	the	document.	

 Appendix D	lists	other	resources	related	to	crisis	data	management.	

The
national
Cooperative
Education
Statistics
System


The	work	of	the	National	Forum	on	Education	Statistics	(the	Forum)	is	a	key	aspect	

of	the	National	Cooperative	Education	Statistics	System	(Cooperative	System).	The	

Cooperative	System	was	established	to	produce	and	maintain,	with	the	cooperation	of	

the	states,	comparable	and	uniform	educational	information	and	data	that	are	useful	

for	policymaking	at	the	federal,	state,	and	local	levels.	To	assist	in	meeting	this	goal,	

the	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics	(NCES),	within	the	U.S.	Department	

of	Education,	established	the	Forum	to	improve	the	collection,	reporting,	and	use	of	

elementary	and	secondary	education	statistics.	The	Forum	deals	with	issues	in	education	

data	policy,	sponsors	innovations	in	data	collection	and	reporting,	and	provides	technical	

assistance	to	improve	state	and	local	data	systems.	

development
of
Forum
Products


Members	of	the	Forum	establish	task	forces	to	develop	best-practice	guides	in	data-related	

areas	of	interest	to	federal,	state,	and	local	education	agencies.	They	are	assisted	in	this	

work	by	NCES,	but	the	content	comes	from	the	collective	experience	of	the	state-	and	

school-district	task	force	members	who	review	the	products	iteratively	throughout	the	

development	process.	Documents	prepared,	reviewed,	and	approved	by	task	force	members	

undergo	a	formal	public	review.	This	consists	of	focus	groups	with	representatives	of	the	

product’s	intended	audience,	review	sessions	at	relevant	regional	or	national	conferences,	

or	technical	reviews	by	acknowledged	experts	in	the	field.	In	addition,	all	draft	documents	

are	posted	on	the	Forum	website	prior	to	publication	so	that	any	interested	individuals	

or	organizations	can	provide	feedback.	After	the	task	force	oversees	the	integration	of	

public	review	comments	and	reviews	the	document	a	final	time,	publications	are	subject	to	

examination	by	members	of	the	Forum	standing	committee	sponsoring	the	project.	Finally,	

the	entire	Forum	(approximately	120	members)	reviews	and	formally	votes	to	approve	the	

document.	NCES	provides	final	review	and	approval	prior	to	publication.	

vi Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
TABlE
OF
COnTEnTS



Task	Force	Members............................................................................. iii		

Acknowledgments............................................................................... iv		

Foreword.......................................................................................v		

Chapter 1. Introduction ...................................................................1		

What	is	a	Crisis? ............................................................................1		

Who	is	a	“Displaced”	Student? .................................................................3		

Key	Issues	From	Past	Crises....................................................................4		

Chapter 2. Before Crisis: Planning for Displaced Student Data ........................7		

Evaluating	the	Disaster	Recovery	Team...........................................................7		

Assessing	Existing	Data	Systems ................................................................8		

Implementing	Placeholders	for	“Displaced”	Student	Data	Elements ....................................8		

Maintaining	Data	Elements...................................................................13		

Reviewing	the	Frequency	and	Timing	of	Data	Collections...........................................14		

Reviewing	Data	Policies	and	Procedures .........................................................14		

Chapter 3. During a Crisis: Collecting and Disseminating Data 

about Displaced Students ................................................................17		

Crisis	Declaration ..........................................................................17		

Data	System	Assessment .....................................................................17		

Chapter 4. After a Crisis: Displaced Student Data Reporting and Evaluation ........21		

Ongoing	Data	Sharing	 ......................................................................21		

State	and	Federal	Reporting...................................................................21		

Discontinuing	Temporary	Systems .............................................................23		

Evaluating	Response	Activities	................................................................23		

Chapter 5. Data Challenges ..............................................................25		

When	a	Statewide	Student	Information	System	(SIS)	Has	Not	Been	Established	......	.....................25		

When	Unique	Statewide	Student	Identifiers	Have	Not	Been	Introduced................................26		

Unfortunate	Timing	 ........................................................................26		

When	a	“Displaced”	Student	Becomes	a	“Relocated”	Student ........................................27		

Chapter 6. Recommended Crisis Data Management Checklist........................29		

Conclusion ...............................................................................32		

Appendices ................................................................................33		

A.	Forum	and	Other	NCES	Resources	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.33		

B.	Understanding	Relevant	Federal	Laws	 ........................................................37		

C.	Glossary ...............................................................................41		

D.	Additional	Resources .....................................................................45		

Table	of	Contents	 vii 

Chapter
1


InTROdUCTIOn


The lasting implications of large-scale student displacement 

The Southern Education Foundation (SEF) reports that “within two 

months following (Hurricane) Katrina, as many as 138,000 students 

were not in school” and 20–30,000 elementary and secondary 

students did not attend school at all in the 2005–06 school year. 

Source: Southern Education Foundation (2007). Education after Katrina: Time for 

a New Federal Response. Atlanta, GA. 

On	August	29,	2005,	Hurricane	Katrina	made	landfall	in	Louisiana	and	Mississippi.	

Approximately	700	schools	were	damaged	or	destroyed	and	over	370,000	students	

were	displaced.	According	to	the	U.S.	Department	of	Education,	by	late	September,	

every	state	in	the	nation	had	received	at	least	one	displaced	student	and	12	states	had	

received	more	than	a	thousand,	with	Texas	and	Louisiana	enrolling	over	45,000	(www.


hurricanehelpforschools.gov/proginfo/index.html).	The	education	community	was	unprepared	to	

track	such	a	large	number	of	displaced	students.	

In	this	age	of	data-driven	decisionmaking,	monitoring	displaced	students	requires	

good	planning,	effective	communications,	and	high-quality	data.	School	leaders	need	

accurate	data	to	inform	student	placement,	deliver	appropriate	services,	adjust	school	

management	practices,	allocate	disaster-relief	funding,	and	track	student	performance.	

what
is
a
Crisis?


In	this	guide,	a	“crisis”	is	defined	as	“any	natural	or	manmade	event	that	causes	the	

displacement	of	students.”	This	definition	does	not	distinguish	between	natural	disasters	

and	other	types	of	crises,	such	as	acts	of	terrorism,	as	long	as	they	temporarily	or	

permanently	disrupt	educational	activities.	In	addition	to	disrupting	school-level	activities,	

a	crisis	may	also	disturb	routine	data	management	operations.	

Chapter
1	Introduction	 1 
While	this	document	defines	a	“crisis”	in	broader	terms	than	the	Federal	Emergency	

Management	Agency	(FEMA)	uses	for	“disasters,”	FEMA	data	highlight	how	frequently	

communities	face	crises	in	our	nation.	According	to	its	website,	FEMA	evaluates	disasters	

based	on	the	amount	and	type	of	damage,	such	as	the	number	of	homes	destroyed	or	with	

major	damage;	the	impact	on	the	infrastructure	of	affected	areas	and	facilities;	threats	to	

public	health	and	safety;	and	interruptions	to	essential	government	services	and	functions	

(www.fema.gov/media/fact_sheets/declaration_process.shtm).	Using	these	criteria,	table	1	shows	

an	average	of	57	FEMA-declared	disasters	annually	from	2003	through	2007.	

Table 1. Number of declared disasters 

Year Number 

2007
 63


2006
 52


2005
 48


2004
 68


2003
 56


Source:
U.S.
Department
of
Homeland
Security,
Federal


Emergency
Management
Agency
(FEMA).
(www.fema.


gov/news/disaster_totals_annual.fema)


Figure 1.
Number
of
FEMA-declared
disasters:
1953–October
2008


Source:
U.S.
Department
of
Homeland
Security,
Federal
Emergency
Management
Agency
(FEMA).


Retrieved
October
2008
from
http://www.fema.gov/news/disaster_totals_annual.fema. 

2 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
Figure	1	shows	that	in	the	past	50	years	every	state	in	the	nation	has	been	affected	by	at	

least	one	FEMA-declared	disaster.	A	single,	large-scale	crisis	such	as	Hurricane	Katrina	can	

affect	the	entire	nation	(see	figure	2),	and	even	geographically	smaller	crises	can	have	a	

large	impact.	This	guide	is	intended	to	help	all	education	agencies	prepare	for	data	issues	

that	arise	from	the	displacement	of	students—regardless	of	the	scale	or	nature	of	the	crisis.	

who
is
a
“displaced”
Student?


For	the	purposes	of	crisis	data	management,	a	“displaced”	student	is	defined	as	“a	student	

who	was	enrolled,	or	eligible	for	enrollment,	but	has	enrolled	in	another	place	because	of	

a	crisis.”	This	broad	definition	could	reasonably	be	made	more	specific	by	an	education	

agency	that	might	wish	to	add,	for	example,	a	requirement	that	the	crisis	must	be	a	FEMAdeclared	disaster.	

Temporary or permanent closing without displacing students 

I

n
early
2009,
many
schools
and
agencies
closed
their
doors
in
an
effort
to
help


contain
the
spread
of
swine
flu
throughout
the
student
population.
Although
these


closings
did
not
displace
students,
these
types
of
events
should
be
a
component
of


disaster-response
planning
to
ensure
the
loss
of
instructional
services
is
minimized.


Figure 2.
Number
of
displaced
students
from
hurricanes
Katrina
and


Rita:
September
21,
2006


SOURCE:
U.S.
Department
of
Education,
Impact
Aid
Program.
Retrieved
January
2009
from


http://www.hurricanehelpforschools.gov/proginfo/index.html. 

Chapter
1	Introduction	 3 
Key
Issues
From
Past
Crises


While	this	document	reflects	experience	from	a	wide	range	of	crises,	the	vast	majority	of	

its	recommendations	are	derived	from	“lessons	learned”	by	education	institutions	affected	

by	hurricanes	Katrina	and	Rita	in	August	and	September,	2005.	The	consequences	of	these	

disasters	clearly	transcended	matters	of	education,	but	the	ramifications	for	educational	

services	were	severe.	In	fact,	these	crises	combined	to	cause	the	largest	displacement	

of	students	in	American	history.	In	Louisiana	alone,	nearly	200,000	public	elementary	

and	secondary	students	were	displaced—more	than	26	percent	of	Louisiana’s	prestorm	

enrollment.1	

Not all school crises are “national” tragedies 

On December 10, 2007, Jones High School in Jones, Oklahoma was 

destroyed by fire during an ice storm that caused the fire hydrant’s 

water pressure to fade. The entire population of over 300 students in 

the rural community lost their school in one night. 

Source: Olivarez 2007. Jones High School Destroyed By Fire. NewsOK.com. 

Retrieved June 11, 2008. 

Crises	come	in	many	forms	and	scenarios,	and	some	can	displace	families	and	students.	

For	example,	a	school	or	district	may	quickly	lose	some	or	all	of	its	students,	staff,	

buildings,	and	data	after	a	devastating	fire	or	flood.	In	such	a	situation,	another	school	

or	district	might	step	in	to	help	and,	in	some	cases,	gain	newly	displaced	students	quite	

suddenly.	When	reviewing	the	data	management	processes	used	to	track	students	in	this	

type	of	situation,	three	key	concerns	arise.	

 Student
displacement
within
a
state:	When	a	student	moves	within	a	state,	

a	statewide	information	system	can	be	very	helpful	for	school	reassignment.	

Transfers	within	a	state	should	be	easier	to	monitor	than	movement	between	

states,	especially	when	statewide	data	standards	have	already	been	established.	

The	most	useful	data	standard	for	tracking	students	is	a	unique	student	identifier,	

Lessons Learned: 

The InabILITy To obTaIn sTudenT records upon enroLLmenT 

Customary enrollment methods and processes were not functional following 

hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As students moved, districts could not obtain basic 

student information such as credits earned and services needed. As a result, 

some parents were able to enroll their children in incorrect grades for reasons 

such as keeping siblings together, grade advancement, early graduation, and 

even athletic eligibility. 

1

Rand/Gulf	States	Policy	Institute.	2006.	Student
Displacement
in
Louisiana
after
the
Hurricanes
of
2005:
Experiences
of
Public


Schools
and
Their
Students.


4 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
which	streamlines	the	process	of	providing	districts	with	placement	information	

on	new	students.	In	many	cases,	districts	within	the	same	state	are	subject	to	the	

same	policies	governing	credits	needed	for	graduation,	grade	placement,	program	

eligibility,	and	accountability	measures,	all	of	which	make	educational	placement	

and	the	delivery	of	services	for	displaced	students	much	easier.	

 Student
displacement
between
states:	Quickly	connecting	students	with	

their	records	is	much	more	difficult	when	displaced	students	cross	state	lines.	

Disparate	procedures	and	state	policies,	including	issues	of	privacy,	complicate	

data	sharing.	For	example,	because	student	identifiers	are	usually	unique	only	

within	a	single	state,	linking	between	states	requires	developing	sophisticated	

matching	algorithms	and	other	labor-intensive	tasks.	Varying	state	policies	on	

grade	placement,	testing,	promotion,	and	graduation	requirements	are	all	obstacles	

to	student	placement.	

 Sharing
individual
student
data
in
a
timely
manner:	After	hurricanes	

Katrina	and	Rita,	there	was	considerable	confusion	about	federal,	state,	and	local	

rules	and	policies	governing	the	transfer	of	student	data	during	an	emergency.	

Because	of	the	massive	scale	of	the	two	crises,	data	did	not	accompany	students	

in	a	timely	manner.	Many	new	students	were	permitted	to	enroll	in	districts	

without	appropriate	school	records.	Without	incoming	students’	official	records,	

enrollment	and	educational	service	decisions	were	often	incorrect.	Indeed,	placing	

students	into	an	educational	environment	without	access	to	educational	records	

imposes	a	significant	burden	on	the	receiving	school	and	may	be	a	substantial	

detriment	to	the	student.	For	example,	children	with	special	needs	may	not	receive	

the	services	they	require,	and	some	students	may	not	even	be	assigned	to	the	

correct	grades.	

Private and home schools 

During
a
large
movement
of
students,
some
private-school
or
homeschooled


children
will
enroll
in
public
schools,
and
some
public
school
students
may


switch
to
private
schools
or
become
homeschooled.
In
Louisiana,
nonpublic


schools
report
basic
data
to
the
state,
including
transcript
data,
to
support


scholarship
funding.
Having
records
from
these
institutions
eased
communications


following
hurricane
Katrina.
Relationships
with
private
schools
and
homeschool


organizations
are
a
prerequisite
to
good
contingency
planning,
and
those
schools


and
organizations
should
therefore
be
included
in
disaster
recovery
planning.


Chapter
1	Introduction	 5 

CHAPTER
2


BEFORE
A
CRISIS:


PlAnnIng
FOR
dISPlACEd

STUdEnT
dATA


State	education	agencies	(SEAs)	and	Local	Education	Agencies	(LEAs)	may	consider	

themselves	prepared	for	a	crisis	because	they	have	a	disaster	recovery	plan;	however,	most	

of	these	plans	focus	primarily	on	the	physical	safety	of	people	and	data	systems.	While	

protecting	health	and	safety	is	undoubtedly	the	most	important	task	in	any	emergency	

situation,	few	disaster	recovery	plans	place	sufficient	emphasis	on	preserving	data.	This	

chapter	provides	guidance	to	help	education	organizations	prepare	for	such	a	crisis	by	

developing	and	implementing	policies	for	tracking	displaced	students	and	exchanging	

student	data	in	a	timely	manner.	

Access to the Disaster Recovery Plan 

Louisiana
staff
were
asked
to
store
a
copy
of
their
agency’s
Disaster
Recovery


Plan
in
the
trunks
of
their
cars
so
that
no
matter
where
they
were
during
a


crisis,
they
would
have
their
copy
with
them.
Such
a
practice
is
also
useful
when


facilities
close
after
work
hours
and
staff
do
not
have
an
opportunity
to
go
back
to


their
offices
to
retrieve
their
files
during
an
emergency.


Evaluating
the
disaster
Recovery
Team


Most	disaster	recovery	experts	advocate	the	creation	of	a	disaster	recovery	team	that	will	

plan	and	implement	recovery	activities	in	response	to	an	actual	emergency	situation.	

Team	members	typically	include	key	staff	responsible	for	minimizing	the	impact	of	a	crisis	

and	ensuring	that	educational	services	to	students	are	not	interrupted.	Members	may	be	

selected	for	their	expertise	in	safety	and	security,	transportation,	technology,	homeless	

services,	food	service,	special	education,	assessment,	facilities,	communication,	federal	

programs,	counseling	and	mental	health,	emergency	systems,	legal	services,	and	finance	

and	administration.	Agencies	should	also	have	strong	contacts	with	organizations	outside	

of	education	that	serve	children	or	collect	data	about	students	(e.g.,	immunization	and	free	

lunch	programs).	

Because	data	are	a	critical	component	of	disaster	recovery	planning,	data	stewards	

from	throughout	an	agency	should	be	represented	on	the	disaster	recovery	team.	In	fact,	

depending	on	organization	and	size,	some	agencies	may	choose	to	establish	a	“data	team”	

Recommendation:


Ensure that data 

managers are 

represented on your 

agency’s disaster 

recovery team and, 

when possible, that a 

“data subgroup” 

is established. 

Chapter
2
Before	a	Crisis:	Planning	for	Displaced	Student	Data	 7 
Recommendation:


All data systems 

should be automated. 

Ensure that 

automated data 

systems are flexible 

enough to permit 

the creation of new 

applications and file 

formats. 

as	a	subgroup	of	the	disaster	recovery	team.	Such	a	group	usually	includes	a	student	

information	system	manager,	as	well	as	data	stewards	from	important	program	offices	and	

departments.	The	goal	of	this	subgroup	would	be	to	ensure	that	data	needs	are	met	during	

and	following	a	crisis.	

Assessing
Existing
data
Systems


Any	good	disaster	recovery	plan	will	be	based	on	an	assessment	of	the	agency’s	existing	

data	systems.	This	includes	analysis	of	the	operational	schedule	for	all	data	systems,	as	well	

as	identifying	which	systems	are	most	critical	to	serving	displaced	students,	which	have	

sensitive	data,	which	are	paper-based,	and	which	are	automated.	The	assessment	should	

also	determine	the	specific	technology	each	system	uses.	Any	data	collections	still	in	paper	

format	should	be	evaluated	for	automation	as	paper	collections	are	much	more	vulnerable	

to	loss	in	a	disaster.	

Maintaining	the	security	and	confidentiality	of	individual	student	data	is	a	critical	

aspect	of	sound	student	data	systems.	The	National	Forum	on	Education	Statistics	has	

developed	several	best	practice	guides	for	preserving	the	confidentiality	of	student	data;	

see	appendix	A	for	a	detailed	description	of	these	resources.	

Lessons Learned: 

movIng from paper To eLecTronIc records 

In Louisiana, many Individual Education Plans (IEPs) were maintained in paper 

form and destroyed during hurricane Katrina. The lack of official IEPs posed 

significant placement challenges for schools and districts that received these 

special education students. Louisiana has since implemented a web-based 

system that school districts use to electronically store IEPs on state-operated 

servers. Access to all IEPs is now readily available to districts receiving special 

education students who transfer within Louisiana. In the event of another largescale crisis, this state-housed system could be used to share data with entities 

outside the state as well. 

Implementing
Placeholders
for
displaced


Student
data
Elements


A	data	element	is	the	lowest	level	of	information	(i.e.,	a	single	piece	of	data	that	gets	

stored).	In	a	student	record	system,	data	elements	can	convey	information	such	as	student	

names,	addresses,	test	scores,	and	course	enrollment.	Including	an	item	that	identifies	a	

child’s	status	as	a	“displaced	student”	can	be	very	helpful	in	a	crisis	situation.	This	element	

remains	dormant	until	a	crisis	occurs	and	then,	following	the	recommendations	described	

below,	it	can	be	activated	to	identify	and	track	displaced	students	during	or	following	

a	disaster.	The	items	below	were	developed	for	students	entering	an	education	agency;	

however,	they	can	also	be	used	to	inform	decisions	and	track	students	exiting	an	agency.	

Ideally,	the	addition	of	a	“displaced	student”	identifier	will	be	instituted	at	the	state	

level	because	it	will	improve	data	compatibility	across	districts	throughout	the	state.	If	

a	school	district	chooses	to	institute	this	new	data	element	prior	to	receiving	direction	

8 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
from	the	state,	it	should	confirm	SEA	data	requirements	to	ensure	alignment	with	state	

standards.	

In	addition	to	a	displaced	student	identifier,	data	systems	should	incorporate	a	

related	crisis	event	table	to	provide	a	better	understanding	of	the	student’s	status	and	needs	

(see	below).	Most	data	systems	can	accommodate	these	items	fairly	simply,	yet	the	benefits	

of	having	the	supporting	elements	can	be	invaluable,	as	described	in	greater	detail	in	

chapters	3	and	4.	

displaced
student
indicator:	This	indicator	has	a	field	length	of	at	least	two	characters	

and	corresponds	to	a	crisis	code	in	the	Crisis	Event	Table	(see	below).	It	typically	resides	

with	the	student	record	and	can	be	used	as	a	flag	for	a	multitude	of	purposes—federal	

funds,	exceptions	to	accountability	rules,	etc.	From	an	operational	perspective,	the	

indicator	either	defaults	to	00	or	is	set	to	a	null	value	until	it	is	triggered	by	a	crisis	

affecting	a	student.	Depending	upon	the	enrollment	circumstances	of	any	given	student,	

this	indicator	could	be	used	by	both	the	exiting	and	receiving	school	districts.	Students	

affected	by	more	than	one	crisis	in	a	school	year	could	have	more	than	one	indicator.	(The	

following	section,	“Tracking	Displaced	Students	During	Hurricanes	Katrina	and	Rita,”	

illustrates	how	displaced	student	indicators	were	used	in	different	states.)	

Crisis
event
table:	A	crisis	event	table	identifies	and	describes	a	crisis	that	may	or	

may	not	cause	the	displacement	of	students.	It	would	exist	as	a	structured	table	with	

placeholders	(e.g.,	00)	that	are	populated	with	values	as	crises	occur.	Such	a	table	could	

include	the	following	data:	

a.	Crisis Code:	A	unique	number	or	alphanumeric	code	used	to	identify	

a	crisis.	This	code	should	be	able	to	accommodate	numerous	crises	within	

a	single	school	year.	It	is	associated	with	the	displaced	student	identifier	in	

order	to	link	a	crisis	to	a	student	who	was	displaced	or	otherwise	affected	by	

the	event.	If	the	same	code	values	are	to	be	used	over	multiple	years,	it	is	

important	to	have	enough	crisis-specific	items	(e.g.,	school	year,	date/time)	to	

keep	the	events	unique	over	time.	

b.	AdditionAl desCriptive informAtion:	In	addition	to	a	code	that	

identifies	a	crisis,	an	agency	should	consider	including	enough	additional	

information	to	more	fully	explain	the	event.	This	type	of	documentation	

could	prove	useful	for	research	purposes,	federal	accountability,	and	other	

data	quality	and	organizational	management	issues.	Examples	include	

i.		 Crisis nAme:	The	name	of	the	crisis	that	caused	the	displacement	of	

students	(e.g.,	Hurricane	Rita).	

ii.		Crisis type:	The	type	or	category	of	crisis.	For	example,	FEMA	

declares	disasters	in	17	categories	(see	figure	3).	

iii.	Crisis stArt dAte:	The	date	on	which	the	crisis	affected	the	

agency,	which	may	not	be	the	same	as	the	date	the	crisis	occurred.	For	

example,	a	hurricane	might	be	expected	to	reach	land	on	Wednesday	

but	the	crisis	start-date	would	be	Monday	if	that	is	when	evacuation	

orders	are	implemented.	

iv.	Crisis desCriptor(s): Additional	information	about	the	crisis	not	

included	above.	

Recommendation:


SEAs should be 

prepared to collect 

displaced student 

information from 

LEAs to meet state 

and federal reporting 

requirements related 

to a declared crisis. 

Recommendation:


SEAs and LEAs need 

to communicate 

about data items and 

file formats before 

setting up any new 

elements or systems. 

Recommendation:


Agencies should 

add a displaced 

student indicator 

and associated crisis 

event table to its 

data system. 

Chapter
2
Before	a	Crisis:	Planning	for	Displaced	Student	Data	 9 
Figure 3. FEMA
disaster
categories


Chemical


Dam
failure


Earthquake


Fire
or
wildfire


Flood


Hazardous
material


Heat


Hurricane


Landslide


Nuclear
power


Plant
emergency


Terrorism


Thunderstorm


Tornado


Tsunami


Volcano


Wildfire


Winter
storm


Source:
http://www.fema.gov/hazard/types.shtm 

Tracking displaced students during hurricanes Katrina and Rita 

Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas were all significantly affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.Yet, because of differences 

in the design and operation of their student data systems, the three states had a different approach to tracking displaced 

students during and after the crisis. 

ThE
lOUISIAnA
ExPERIEnCE


 The Louisiana SEA immediately introduced a method for tracking displaced students within its statewide 

student information system (SIS), and provided LEAs with collection guidelines. However, because routine 

collection schedules were insufficient, weekly counts of displaced student enrollments were reported by the 

LEAs to the SEA via a special web collection. 

 Early communications with federal agencies indicated that the displaced student population was very mobile 

and, therefore, that impact-aid funding should be distributed to the school(s) of post-Katrina enrollment during 

the 2005–06 school year.To help allocate funds appropriately, several snapshot funding (“as of”) dates were 

established. Because the information was available at the state level, the Louisiana SEA was able to report 

displaced student counts to the federal government on behalf of LEAs seeking to receive Impact Aid funding. 

 Because an enrollment record in the Louisiana student information system contained the school code, entry 

date, entry reason, exit date, and exit reason, the SEA decided to also collect a crisis code.To operationalize 

this modification, SIS managers added values to existing exit- and entrance-code tables for each crisis.Thus, 

students who moved multiple times because of more than one crisis could be identified independently for each 

crisis. However, in order to establish unduplicated counts of displaced students when analyzing longitudinal 

data, a query of all enrollment records was necessary to determine a student’s displacement status for the 

entire school year. 

10 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
ThE
MISSISSIPPI
ExPERIEnCE


 The Mississippi SEA immediately introduced a method for tracking displaced students within its statewide SIS 

and provided LEAs with collection guidelines.These guidelines were communicated via e-mail and by means of 

a newly created Mississippi Hurricane Katrina Recovery website. One example of the type of information shared 

this way was the immediate addition of a new field to the Mississippi SIS “Request Transfer Screen,” called 

<Katrina Transfer>. 

 The SEA was concerned about its existing processes for transferring and releasing students, so it established 

three ways to enter a transfer depending on the origin and destination of transferring students: 

• In-state
students
transferring
from
one
Mississippi
district
to
another
Mississippi
district


The normal process of transferring students within the state using the Mississippi SIS (MSIS) was 

temporarily disrupted due to the destruction of facilities and lack of power following the crisis.As soon as 

the system was operational, SEA staff processed the transfer and release of records for each district within 

the state. 

• Transfers of students moving into Mississippi from Louisiana 

Mississippi created a subsystem in its MSIS that consisted of one screen and three reports focused solely 

on students entering Mississippi schools from Louisiana.This subsystem was linked to a database sent by 

the Louisiana SEA to facilitate the enrollment of its students who had been displaced by the crisis. 

• Mississippi students transferring to another state 

Many Mississippi students were displaced by the crisis and enrolled in schools in other states.To facilitate 

their enrollment, Mississippi worked with the other states to institute emergency enrollment procedures, 

as authorized under the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act. In cases where all school records had 

been lost or destroyed, the SEA helped receiving states and school districts to recreate the information 

based on data in the MSIS database. 

 Mississippi believed it had established an effective method of tracking displaced students, regardless of 

whether they were originally “in state” or “out of state.” However, some students did not stay in the enrolling 

district very long and enrollment counts had to be conducted frequently to minimize the risk of duplicate 

counting. 

Chapter
2
Before	a	Crisis:	Planning	for	Displaced	Student	Data	 11 
ThE
TExAS
ExPERIEnCE


 The Texas SEA did not collect crisis code data for hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005–06 but, rather, asked 

districts to maintain these data locally according to SEA specifications. Independent of these data, counts of 

displaced students by district were conducted on a weekly basis by regional office staff and reported to the 

state. 

 Although having local districts collect data satisfied many information requirements, it proved insufficient when 

the federal government conducted an audit of the number of students served, and student-level data were 

unavailable at the state level.This became an important issue because each district in Texas was audited, and 

federal auditors were forced to identify duplicate student counts from locally provided spreadsheets. 

 Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, data maintained at the LEA level identified students who were involved in 

one, both, or neither hurricane. Codes implemented were: 00 = not displaced by either hurricane Katrina or Rita, 

01 = displaced by hurricane Katrina, 02 = displaced by hurricane Rita, 03 = displaced by hurricane Katrina and 

by hurricane Rita. 

Revising
the
Texas
solution:After its experience with hurricanes Katrina and Rita,Texas decided to add a crisis data 

element to its state-level student information system.The timeline for implementing this modification became more 

urgent in the summer of 2008 with the landfall of hurricane Dolly on the Texas coast. In an emergency meeting of the 

Data Governance Committee, LEAs agreed to immediately add a crisis element to the statewide student identification 

record for the 2008–09 school year, which proved to be a wise decision when hurricane Ike made landfall in Galveston, 

Texas, on September 13, 2008. 

 The Texas Education Agency now collects a crisis code at the student-record level.This approach was chosen 

because the student ID accompanies all student level data submissions, which allows displaced students to 

be identified on reports of enrollment, attendance (the state’s funding measure), graduates and dropouts, and 

extended school year services. 

 When hurricane Ike caused the evacuation of the Texas Coast on September 13, 2008, a new code table was 

sent to districts. Because of this change, any state or federal audits of students displaced by the crisis could be 

managed at the state level, which is a more efficient model for both the auditors and the school districts. 

 When creating a code table for a crisis element, planners should avoid repeating previously used crisis 

codes because historical and/or longitudinal data often are included in data requests, and using the same 

codes repeatedly could complicate analysis. 

Lessons Learned: 

operaTIonaLIzIng a dIspLaced sTudenT IndIcaTor 

The design of an agency’s data system has a large impact on the design of the 

displaced student indicator. Most systems have student data stored in different 

record types or levels. For example, a “complete” student data record may 

actually be a combination of records—enrollment, program, food service, 

transportation—linked by a common identifier. Such a system may place 

different limitations on the design of a displaced student indicator than a system 

with a single, stand-alone file for each student. Choices about the placement 

and hierarchy of a crisis code can, therefore, have a significant impact on 

query, storage, and print functions. 

12 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
Maintaining
data
Elements



Basic data elements at the student, staff, class, school, LEA, IEU, and 

SEA levels can be found in the NCES Handbooks Online, available 

from NCES at http://www.nces.ed.gov/programs/handbook. 

In	addition	to	the	crisis	event	table	and	displaced	student	indicator,	other	data	items	

may	be	necessary	to	improve	federal	and	state	reporting	and	accountability	assessments.	

Maintaining	these	data	elements,	and	ensuring	their	quality,	is	essential	for	collecting	

useful	and	actionable	information	about	displaced	students.	

Basic
items
from
the
student
information
system.	When	enrolling	a	displaced	

student,	the	receiving	district	needs	the	same	data	it	expects	from	any	enrolling	student,	

including	student	demographic	information	and	a	list	of	services	the	student	receives.	In	

theory,	most	student	information	systems	are	designed	to	easily	retrieve	this	information;	

this	is	not	always	the	case	in	practice,	especially	when	new	items	are	needed	or	the	system	

is	operating	under	extreme	circumstances,	as	occurs	during	a	crisis.	After	hurricanes	Katrina	

and	Rita,	for	example,	Impact	Aid	funding	was	available	for	displaced	special	education	

students,	but	in	order	to	qualify	for	this	aid,	receiving	districts	needed	information	about	

each	displaced	child’s	special	education	status.	Without	these	basic	data	elements	and	data	

management	capabilities,	these	funds	were	hard	to	obtain.	

Basic
items
from
other
systems.	In	addition	to	basic	student	data,	users	must	be	able	

to	access	related	data	maintained	in	other	systems;	this	includes,	for	example,	information	

from	facilities,	security,	transportation,	programs	and	services,	and	staff	data	systems.	

County
information
for
FEMA.	Historically,	FEMA	declares	a	disaster	and	allocates	

federal	funds	to	affected	regions	at	the	administrative	level	of	the	county.	Therefore,	when	

an	agency	receives	students	from	a	FEMA-declared	disaster	area,	state	officials	and	FEMA	

will	likely	request	data	from	the	displaced	student’s	home	county.	Administrative	staff	

should	be	able	to	assign	and	record	a	Federal	Information	Processing	Standards	(FIPS)	

County	Code	based	on	address	information	from	the	exiting	school	or	district.	

In	some	cases,	the	SEA	may	have	the	FIPS	code	information	needed	by	the	LEAs.	

Similarly,	the	federal	government	maintains	national	school	and	district	databases	that	

include	county	FIPS	codes	for	every	school	in	the	country.	

Recommendation:


Review and maintain 

your basic student 

data items in your 

SIS. 

Recommendation: 

Incorporate existing 

resources, including 

FIPS codes and other 

available national 

databases. 

The Forum produces 

documents that 

highlight data 

standardization and 

basic data elements 

(See appendix A 

for a list of these 

documents). 

The National Center for Education Statistics has an online tool that 

allows users to obtain FIPS County Codes for all public schools and 

districts in the United States, available at: http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/ 

districtsearch/index.asp. 

Chapter
2
Before	a	Crisis:	Planning	for	Displaced	Student	Data	 13 
Recommendation:


Be familiar with 

the frequency and 

timing of your 

agency’s current 

data collections. 

Be prepared to 

introduce additional 

data collections or 

collection cycles 

during a crisis. 

A detailed description 

of relevant federal 

laws can be found in 

appendix B. 

Reviewing
the
Frequency
and
Timing
of
data
Collections



Data collection timelines 

The
Mississippi
Statewide
Information
System
was
designed
to
accept
the


prescribed
monthly
submission
as
well
as
optional
daily
submissions
from


districts,
which
provides
a
mechanism
for
adding
data
collection
windows
as


needed
during
a
crisis.
If
the
system
hadn’t
allowed
for
this
type
of
flexibility
and


had
limited
attendance
reports
to
the
originally
scheduled
10th
day
of
each
month,


Mississippi
would
have
been
unable
to
accurately
report
fall
enrollment
at
the


beginning
of
the
school
year,
which
fell
shortly
after
hurricane
Katrina.


While	the	timing	of	all	data	collections	is	important,	data	about	displaced	students	are	

especially	time	sensitive	given	the	immediate	information	need	for	funding,	accountability,	

and	other	decisionmaking.	In	a	crisis,	the	flexibility	to	adjust	collection	schedules	is	critical.	

For	example,	when	enrollment	counts	are	only	collected	by	the	state	a	few	times	a	year,	

additional	ad-hoc	collections	may	be	needed	to	report	accurate	changes	in	enrollments	

following	a	crisis.	

Reviewing
data
Policies
and
Procedures


A	strong	working	knowledge	of	current	federal,	state,	and	local	policies	will	invariably	

prove	useful	during	data	collection	and	analysis	following	a	crisis.	After	a	disaster,	

key	personnel	may	not	be	available	to	answer	questions	and	make	policy	decisions.	

When	multiple	team	members	are	familiar	with	data	policies	and	expectations,	they	

can	immediately	step	in	to	make	decisions.	Having	a	method	for	tracking	policy	and	

procedural	decisions	is	also	critical,	as	is	a	strategy	for	effectively	communicating	the	

decisions.	Some	types	of	data	policies	and	procedures	with	which	team	members	should	

be	familiar	include	

 Federal
policies
and
procedures:	The	federal	government	has	a	wide	range	

of	programs,	offices,	regulations,	and	statutes	that	deal	with	crises,	displaced	

students,	and	related	issues	such	as	data	privacy,	homelessness,	and	emergency	

aid.	Agencies	should	proactively	review	and	understand	the	implications	of	the	

following	federal	programs	and	initiatives.	

•	The	Family	Educational	Rights	and	Privacy	Act	(FERPA)	

•	The	McKinney–Vento	Act	

•	The	Federal	Emergency	Management	Agency	(FEMA)	

•	The	Impact	Aid	Program	

 State
and
local
policies
and
procedures:	Many	state	and	local	policies	

and	procedures	may	need	to	be	adapted	in	response	to	a	crisis.	Assimilating	state	

and	local	guidance	related	to	the	following	topics	will	improve	disaster	recovery	

planning	and	help	decisionmakers	deal	with	these	issues	if	the	need	arises.	In	

addition	to	ensuring	vital	technical	knowledge,	precrisis	engagement	with	staff	

14 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
within	and	across	agencies	will	strengthen	relationships	and	future	disaster	

recovery	responses.	The	following	types	of	issues	should	be	considered:	

•	Assessment	schedules

•	Average	daily	attendance/membership

•	Class	size

•	Data	retention

•	Disaster	recovery	plans	

•	Full-time	equivalent

•	Graduation	requirements

•	Immunization	waivers	

•	Instructional	days	(required	and	waived)

•	Nonpublic	institutions

•	Policy	exceptions

•	State	accountability	plans	and	modifications	

•	Data	policies	and	procedures

•	Textbook	allocation

•	Truancy

Recommendation:


Agencies should 

review and 

understand current 

federal, state, and 

local data policies 

and procedures. 

Lessons Learned: 

sTaTe accounTabILITy excepTIons 

After the movement of students from Louisiana to Texas that followed hurricanes 

Katrina and Rita, the Texas Education Agency modified state and federal 

accountability to accommodate the large influx of displaced students. This 

was accomplished by implementing additional demographic boxes on the 

assessment answer sheets. 

Chapter
2
Before	a	Crisis:	Planning	for	Displaced	Student	Data	 15 

Chapter
3


dURIng
A
CRISIS:


COllECTIng
And
dISSEMInATIng


dATA
ABOUT
dISPlACEd
STUdEnTS


This	chapter	will	help	education	agencies	respond	more	effectively	to	a	crisis	while	it	is	

occurring.	Many	of	these	recommendations	assume	the	organization	has	adhered	to	the	

guidance	in	chapter	2	regarding	adequate	planning	in	advance	of	the	event.	

Crisis
declaration


Once	a	crisis	has	been	declared	officially,	the	disaster	recovery	plan	is	activated	and	the	

team	begins	to	implement	response	activities.	Depending	on	the	nature	and	scale	of	the	

event,	some	or	all	contingencies	and	responses	may	be	triggered.	In	some	crises,	students	

may	relocate	to	different	schools,	districts,	or	states.	Data	management	and	operations	may	

be	disrupted,	including,	in	extreme	situations,	the	loss	of	hardware	that	houses	a	critical	

data	system—although	good	planning	should	ensure	that	adequate	backups	are	available.	

Communication	with	appropriate	federal	and	state	agencies	should	also	occur	during	the	

initial	response	when	circumstances	warrant	such	action.	

data
System
Assessment


For	agencies	directly	affected	by	a	crisis,	locating	or	restoring	existing	student	data	will	

likely	precede	all	other	data-related	activities.	As	such,	the	first	task	will	be	to	inventory	

data	systems	and	determine	whether	any	critical	data	have	been	lost	or	otherwise	made	

inaccessible.	Once	the	availability	and	security	of	data	systems	has	been	confirmed,	

responders	should	assess	whether	students	have	been	displaced.	If	so,	local	education	

agencies	should	begin	to	collect	and	share	data	to	help	identify	these	students.	This	

exchange	of	data	between	agencies	is	necessary	to	minimize	the	interruption	of	educational	

services	to	displaced	students.	Related	agencies,	including	local,	state,	and	federal	

authorities,	should	follow	their	disaster	recovery	plans	to	facilitate	and	otherwise	assist	in	

these	critical	data	activities.	

 Retrieve
and
restore
lost
data.	For	organizations	directly	affected	by	a	crisis,	

data	and/or	records	may	be	lost	temporarily	or	permanently.	If	a	school	or	LEA	

loses	both	electronic	and	paper	student	records,	an	alternative	source	of	this	

information	will	have	to	be	identified.	The	LEA’s	offsite	backup	should	be	the	first	

source;	however,	if	backup	records	are	not	immediately	accessible,	the	SEA	may	

have	a	data	warehouse	with	some,	if	not	all,	of	the	data.	

Recommendation:


The disaster 

recovery team 

should determine 

the organization’s 

response based on 

the nature and scale 

of the crisis, and 

clearly communicate 

data action plans 

to staff at all levels 

of the education 

enterprise. 

Recommendation:


The first datarelated task for an 

organization directly 

affected by a crisis 

is to inventory 

all systems and 

determine whether 

any data have been 

lost or otherwise 

made inaccessible. 

Chapter
3	During	a	Crisis:	Collecting	and	Disseminating	Data	about	Displaced	Students	 17 
Recommendation:


Use a formal chain 

of communication 

between agencies to 

initiate a collection 

of displaced student 

identifiers. 

 Communicating
guidance
on
the
use
of
crisis
indicators.	After	a	crisis	

is	declared,	education	authorities	should	officially	communicate	that	a	displaced	

student	data	collection	has	begun.	For	example,	in	a	large-scale	crisis,	SEAs	

inform	LEAs,	which	then	advise	schools	to	adjust	enrollment	collections	and	

submit	data	with	the	agreed-upon	displaced	student	indicator.	Relevant	disaster	

code	values	(e.g.,	01	=	Hurricane	Rita)	and	data	collection	timelines	should	be	

conveyed	to	specifically	identify	the	event.	Data	entry	staff	need	to	be	made	

aware	of	appropriate	code	set	values	so	they	can	follow	procedures	established	

during	crisis	planning	and	record	the	information	in	the	student	information	

system.	As	always,	administrators	should	remind	staff	that	urgency	does	not	justify	

decreases	in	data	quality	and	that	accurate	data	are	especially	important	during	a	

crisis.	All	available	methods	of	communication	should	be	considered	if	regular	

telecommunication,	internet,	mail,	and	other	services	are	interrupted	during	the	

disaster.	

 Sharing
data.	During	a	crisis,	data	must	be	shared	quickly	across	many	levels	

of	the	education	system.	As	students	move,	for	example,	their	educational	records	

need	to	accompany	them	in	a	timely	manner	to	ensure	the	delivery	of	educational	

services	without	delay.	Similarly,	as	agencies	request	financial	assistance	to	serve	

new	students,	counts	of	displaced	students	need	to	be	reported	and	confirmed	

promptly	if	resources	are	to	reach	students	and	schools	that	need	them.	

Recommendation:


During a crisis, staff 

should be prepared 

to query and 

analyze aggregate 

data in a variety 

of ways to support 

decisionmaking. 

Recommendation: 

Even during a crisis, 

data users must 

respect and protect 

the confidentiality of 

education data. 

•		individuAl student reCords:	Individual	student	data	must	move	

quickly	between	agencies	to	guarantee	the	continuation	of	educational	

services	to	displaced	students.	Because	these	records	are	essential	to	a	student’s	

educational	placement,	the	ability	to	exchange	this	information	quickly	and	

accurately	is	of	the	utmost	importance.	However,	urgency	is	not	necessarily	

more	important	than	confidentiality.	The	Family	Educational	Rights	and	

Privacy	Act	(FERPA),	a	federal	law	that	protects	the	privacy	of	student	

education	records,	is	relevant	even	during	a	crisis.	Most	states	and	many	local	

education	agencies	have	similar	laws,	regulations,	and	policies.	

•		AggregAte dAtA:	In	order	to	effectively	manage	educational,	staffing,	and	

financial	resources,	aggregate	counts	of	displaced	students	may	be	requested	

by	planning	and	oversight	authorities.	As	with	other	types	of	data,	aggregate	

counts	may	be	needed	on	a	different	timeframe	during	a	crisis	than	at	other	

times.	Staff	should	be	prepared	to	query	and	analyze	aggregate	data	in	a	

variety	of	ways	to	support	this	decisionmaking.	

 Brokering
data
exchange.	When	a	large	number	of	students	enter	or	exit	a	

district	or	state	in	a	short	time,	local	resources	and	regular	data-sharing	processes	

may	not	be	able	to	handle	the	increased	demand.	When	this	occurs,	alternative	

means	of	sharing	records	will	be	necessary.	SEAs	may	consider	creating	a	

temporary	application	or	database	to	facilitate	sharing	student	data	with	the	LEAs	

and	schools	tasked	with	enrolling	displaced	students.	Such	a	temporary	database	

could	also	collect	information	about	nonpublic	students	and	schools.	Of	course,	

confidentiality	and	data	quality	issues	are	more	easily	controlled	in	a	hosted	

data	system	than	in	a	temporary	system.	Secure	data	systems	that	provide	basic	

information	about	displaced	students	can	support	proper	placement	and	service	

delivery,	but	several	questions	must	be	addressed	before	embarking	on	these	

alternative	means	for	sharing	data:	

Recommendation: 

SEAs may consider 

using a temporary 

database to help 

share displaced 

student data during 

a crisis. 

18 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
•	Where	will	the	databases	be	stored?	

•	How	will	the	data	be	secured?

•	How	will	confidentiality	be	ensured?

•		Will	the	agency	be	permitted	to	engage	in	a	quick	procurement	process	for	

immediate	data	services?	

•		Will	software	vendors	support	an	abbreviated	procurement	process	and	changes	in	

procedures?	

File	format	is	an	important	aspect	of	data	exchange.	New	file	formats	are	sometimes	

required	for	new	or	temporary	data	collected	or	shared	during	a	crisis.	For	example,	

if	an	agency	collects	enrollment	data	four	times	each	year	and	a	crisis	occurs	between	

collections,	the	agency	may	need	current	enrollment	data	and,	therefore,	add	a	collection	

to	the	regular	cycle.	This	data	collection	could	use	the	same	format	and	system	as	

scheduled	collections,	or	it	could	use	a	new	format	that	facilitates	more	timely	response	

and	accommodates	uncertainty	in	regular	reporting	methods.	

Temporary databases 

Louisiana
created
a
temporary
database
after
many
of
its
students



relocated
to
Texas
and
Mississippi.
This
choice
decreased
the



data
burden
for
school
districts
in
all
three
states.



Chapter
3	During	a	Crisis:	Collecting	and	Disseminating	Data	about	Displaced	Students	 19 

Chapter
4


AFTER
A
CRISIS:


dISPlACEd
STUdEnT
dATA


REPORTIng
And
EVAlUATIOn


Recommendation:


Tracking displaced 

students following a 

crisis is an ongoing 

process given the 

high likelihood of 

multiple enrollments 

and withdrawals. 

While	identifying	the	time	“before”	a	crisis	is	relatively	easy,	the	transition	from	“during”	

to	“after”	a	crisis	is	not	always	so	clear.	In	this	guide,	“after”	a	crisis	is	defined	as	the	time	

after	the	majority	of	displaced	students	have	been	enrolled	in	alternate	schools.	This	period	

can	vary	from	days	to	weeks	or	even	months;	it	ends	when	there	is	no	longer	any	reason	to	

track	the	displaced	students.	

Ongoing
data
Sharing


After	displaced	students	have	enrolled	in	their	new	schools,	LEAs	and	SEAs	continue	to	

have	a	responsibility	to	track	them	and	report	the	data	as	a	component	of	communicating	

about	the	impact	of	the	crisis.	This	ongoing	effort	is	necessary	because	the	enrollment	

status	of	displaced	students	is	subject	to	great	change.	A	student	who	unexpectedly	moves	

into	temporary	housing	is	likely	to	enroll	and	withdraw	from	several	schools	before	settling	

into	a	more	permanent	living	situation.	Ongoing	tracking	of	these	students	is	vital	to	

serving	the	child’s	education	needs	and	meeting	state	and	federal	reporting	requirements.	

Hurricane information website 

The
Texas
Education
Agency
created
a
website
as
a
hurricane
response
resource


for
school
administrators,
teachers,
and
parents.
This
website,
http://www.

tea.state.tx.us/hcane,
contained
information
about
data
collection
and
reporting


procedures,
accountability,
assessment,
curriculum,
finance,
and
other
relevant


laws
and
regulations.
Data
about
displaced
student
enrollments
in
Texas
public


schools
were
also
included.


State
and
Federal
Reporting


Depending	on	the	magnitude	of	the	crisis,	tracking	students	for	funding	and	accountability	

purposes	will	likely	have	ramifications	on	data	systems	and	policies	for	a	long	time.	

Longitudinal	data	systems	are	especially	vulnerable	to	disruption	when	an	institution	

quickly	or	unexpectedly	sees	large	student	population	changes—in	or	out.	

Chapter
4
After	a	Crisis:	Displaced	Student	Data	Reporting	and	Evaluation	 21 
Recommendation:


Remember to 

footnote reports 

and other published 

data when there are 

marked changes that 

may be a function of 

student displacement 

rather than normal 

measures of progress 

and participation. 

Funding.	When	a	large	geographical	area	is	affected	by	a	disaster	and	federal	aid	is	

available,	new	data	may	be	needed	to	allocate	relief	funds	and	other	assistance.	During	

these	situations,	federal	agencies	usually	work	directly	with	affected	counties	to	identify	or	

request	needed	data.	This	process	is	more	complicated	when	school	districts	are	not	aligned	

with	county	boundaries.	In	some	cases,	the	LEAs’	burden	may	be	reduced	if	the	SEA	

communicates	with	the	federal	agency	on	behalf	of	its	districts.	

Auditing.	When	accepting	federal	emergency	funds,	agencies	should	anticipate	audits	of	

data	submitted	to	verify	funding	eligibility.	Auditors	look	for	duplicate	counts	of	students,	

confirmation	of	displaced	student	status	(i.e.,	an	originating	school	in	the	area	affected	

by	the	crisis),	and	potential	fraud.	Detailed	information	about	entry	and	withdrawal	dates	

is	critical	to	ensure	redundant	requests	for	funding	the	same	student	are	not	sought	or	

received.	After	hurricanes	Katrina	and	Rita,	federal	audits	were	conducted	at	the	individual	

student	level.	To	comply	with	these	types	of	audits,	agencies	should	have	student	data	

available	in	a	format	that	accommodates	reasonable	audit	requirements.	These	audits	can	

be	a	burden	for	agencies,	but	if	high	quality	data	are	maintained	they	should	not	be	a	

problem.	

SEA acting as fiscal agent for LEAs 

Because
Louisiana
had
an
extensive,
statewide
Student
Information
System


that
included
a
displaced
student
identifier,
SEA
officials
worked
directly
with


federal
agencies
to
manage
all
data
requests
for
Federal
Emergency
Impact
Aid.


Having
the
SEA
serve
as
an
agent
for
its
districts
has
proven
to
be
advantageous


during
large-scale
crises
that
affect
more
than
one
district.


Core
data
tracking.	Following	a	crisis,	routinely	reported	student	data	items	are	

generally	still	required	from	schools	and	agencies	to	meet	regular	state	and	federal	reporting	

needs.	Clearly,	large	changes	in	student	populations,	such	as	those	seen	when	numerous	

students	are	displaced,	may	substantially	alter	the	statistical	data	normally	reported	by	an	

agency.	For	example,	longitudinal	data	on	student	enrollment,	program	participation,	and	

other	measures	may	fluctuate	markedly	due	to	an	influx	or	outflow	of	displaced	students.	

Explaining	these	extenuating	circumstances	in	footnotes	is	appropriate	wherever	the	data	

are	published.	

Accountability
concerns.	A	large	movement	of	students	in	or	out	of	an	agency	can	

also	influence	accountability	data.	When	this	occurs,	it	may	make	sense	to	modify	high	

stakes	accountability	requirements	related	to	test	scores,	graduation	rates,	and	subgroup	

membership	to	reflect	the	movement	of	displaced	students.	For	example,	most	states	

measure	student	progress	relative	to	state	curriculum	standards.	Under	some	circumstances,	

excluding	from	testing	those	students	not	previously	taught	in	the	state	may	be	reasonable.	

States	and	districts	may	wish	to	seek	exemptions	from	state	and	federal	accountability	

standards	in	these	situations.	

22 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
Statewide testing and accountability 

With respect to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements for the school year following hurricane Katrina, the U.S. 

Department of Education sent a letter to all chief state school officers outlining temporary options for states affected by 

the crisis. 

Regarding NCLB’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement: 

Option 1: Exercise Existing Natural Disaster Provisions of NCLB. NCLB does not require a school or district to 

move forward in the school improvement timeline if the reason for not making AYP is “due to exceptional or 

uncontrollable circumstances, such as a natural disaster.” 

Option 2: Establish a Separate Subgroup for Displaced Students. For school year 2005–06, the Secretary was 

willing to consider waiver requests from states for schools or districts heavily affected by the hurricanes that 

would allow them to establish a separate subgroup for displaced students for NCLB accountability and reporting 

purposes. 

Under both options, states still had to “comply with current NCLB requirements for assessment, accountability, and 

reporting.All students, including displaced students, (had to) be tested on state assessments, and states (had to) ensure 

that their policies (helped) schools and districts meet the AYP target of testing at least 95 percent of students.” 

A copy of the letter, which provides more information on these options, may be viewed at 

http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsecguid/secletter/050929.html. 

discontinuing
Temporary
Systems


After	a	crisis	is	over	and	students	have	been	permanently	placed	in	new	school	districts,	

or	have	returned	to	their	original	districts,	decisions	must	be	made	about	the	destruction	

of	temporary	datasets	and	data	systems.	This	is	especially	important	when	temporary	 Recommendation: systems	contain	personally	identifiable	student	data	or	other	data	that	might	be	considered	 Agencies should confidential	or	sensitive	in	nature.	Data	sharing	agreements	that	were	made	with	other	 formulate a plan to districts	and	states	during	the	crisis	may	influence	the	organization’s	archival	or	destruction	 archive or destroy responsibilities.	 temporary data 

systems based on 

usage agreements, Evaluating
Response
Activities
 confidentiality 

When	the	crisis	is	over,	agencies	should	evaluate	the	effectiveness	of	their	disaster	recovery	 expectations, and 

plan,	including	all	components	of	data	response	efforts.	Some	of	the	major	questions	asked	 other data-lifecycle 

should	include	 considerations. 

 Was	the	data	response	planning	adequate	for	the	crisis?		

 What	additional	planning	might	have	been	helpful?		

 Did	data	systems	and	staff	perform	all	of	their	necessary	functions?		

 Did	crisis	data	elements	accomplish	their	purpose?		

 Should	new	data	items	be	developed	for	future	crises?	If	so,	what	items?		

 Did	financial	systems	and	policies	help	or	hinder	the	data	response?		

 Did	external	auditing	reveal	any	shortcomings	in	the	system?		

Chapter
4
After	a	Crisis:	Displaced	Student	Data	Reporting	and	Evaluation	 23 
 How	effective	were	communications	between	agencies,	both	inside	and	outside	

the	state,	as	appropriate?	

 Were	data	collection	and	reporting	timelines	met?	

 Was	the	confidentiality	of	all	student	data	protected?	

 Are	there	any	long	term	consequences	to	data	reports	that	need	to	be	addressed	

or	explained,	such	as	uncharacteristic	changes	in	enrollments	because	of	displaced	

students?	

 What	changes	to	the	disaster	recovery	plan	should	be	implemented	immediately,	

and	what	changes	should	occur	after	the	next	upgrade	to	the	data	system?	

 What	other	lessons	can	be	learned	from	the	crisis	and	response?	

24 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
Chapter
5


dATA
ChAllEngES


Many	obstacles	hinder	the	collection	of	high	quality	information	about	displaced	students.	

This	chapter	details	several	data-related	challenges	that	may	be	encountered	before,	during,	

and	after	a	crisis.	

when
a
Statewide
Student
Information
System
(SIS)


has
not
Been
Established


The	type	of	student	data	collection	system	a	state	has	will	directly	affect	statewide	

implementation	of	crisis	data	elements	and	tables	and,	ultimately,	the	statewide	collection	

of	crisis	data.	Some	states	are	moving	towards	a	statewide	student	information	system	

(SIS),	allowing	districts	to	either	directly	use	or	connect	to	a	state-run	individual	student	

data	collection	system.	These	states	have	an	advantage	when	dealing	with	any	change	in	

their	data	needs	because	modifications	can	be	made	once	at	the	state	level	and	then	be	

available	to	all	districts	with	minimal	effort.	Because	a	statewide	SIS	also	makes	student	

data	available	to	the	state	immediately	(or	almost	immediately),	detailed	crisis	information	

will	be	available	as	soon	as	a	crisis	is	declared	and	data	entry	begins.	Data	quality	is	also	

improved	by	the	ability	to	have	centralized	cross-district	checks	and	feedback	verification	

reports	for	the	districts.	

Many	states	that	do	not	have	a	statewide	SIS	nevertheless	have	a	system	that	

allows	districts	to	share	individual	student	data	with	the	state	at	various	collection	times	

during	a	school	year.	In	this	case,	deploying	statewide	data	collection	changes	will	require	

districts	and	their	vendors	to	modify	their	individual	systems,	which	can	be	difficult	to	

accomplish	in	a	timely	fashion.	Once	the	districts	are	in	compliance	with	the	changes,	

these	states	will	benefit	from	having	student-level	crisis	data	if	a	statewide	crisis	is	declared.	

However,	infrequent	collection	timelines	could	prove	to	be	detrimental	when	immediate	

decisionmaking	is	required	at	the	state	level.	States	with	a	statewide	SIS	or	an	individual	

student	record	system	also	have	the	capability	to	report	to	the	federal	government	on	

behalf	of	their	districts,	which	can	substantially	decrease	the	data	burden	placed	on	LEAs.	

Chapter
5	Data	Challenges	 25 
States	that	rely	only	on	statewide	aggregate	data	collections	lack	the	flexibility	they	

will	need	during	a	crisis.	After	the	hurricanes	of	2005,	for	example,	authorities	had	to	

target	immediate	aid	and	other	resources	based	on	weekly	aggregate	student	counts.	These	

counts	were	understood	to	be	less	than	accurate	because	they	were	not	current.	Thus,	

under	most	crisis	scenarios,	agencies	with	statewide	individual	student-level	data	will	be	in	

a	better	position	to	respond	to	new	demands	than	will	states	with	only	aggregate	collection	

systems.	

when
Unique
Statewide
Student
Identifiers
have
not


Been
Introduced


As	explained	in	the	Forum	publication	Accounting	for	Every
Student:
A
Taxonomy
for


Standard
Student
Exit
Codes,	data	systems	that	do	not	allow	individual	student	tracking	

over	time—especially	following	a	transfer	to	another	school	system—hinder	the	generation	

of	unduplicated	enrollment	counts	and	other	characteristics	of	high	quality	student-level	

data.	Statewide,	unique	student	identifiers	(IDs)	greatly	enhance	efforts	to	monitor	student	

movement	within	a	state,	but	may	be	of	limited	value	when	students	cross	state	lines,	as	

occurred	after	hurricanes	Katrina	and	Rita.	In	such	cases,	student	records	containing	Social	

Security	numbers	may	prove	invaluable	during	the	out-of-state	movement.	

Displaced students at the beginning of the school year 

Data
requests
after
hurricanes
Katrina
and
Rita
were
typically
for
information


that
would
assist
in
correctly
placing
a
student:
grade
level,
course
history,


program
participation,
and
special
services.


Unfortunate
Timing


While	there	is	never	a	“good”	time	for	a	crisis,	some	times	are	surely	worse	than	others—	

and	the	timing	of	crises	can	have	a	significant	impact	on	disaster	response	efforts.	For	

example,	hurricane	Katrina	reached	land	on	August	29,	2005,	at	the	very	beginning	of	a	

school	year.	This	created	serious	data	issues,	especially	for	student	services	and	enrollment.	

At	the	other	end	of	the	school	calendar,	a	crisis	in	the	spring	during	state	assessments	or	

graduation	testing	would	introduce	a	host	of	different	data	issues—for	example,	LEAs	might	

be	unable	to	confirm	credits	earned	for	graduation.	The	timing	of	a	crisis	can	also	affect	

data	collection	schedules,	especially	for	systems	still	using	aggregate	collections.	Therefore,	

a	disaster	recovery	team	should	not	only	plan	for	multiple	types	of	crises,	but	also	for	the	

full	extent	of	scenarios	with	respect	to	timing.	

26 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
when
a
“displaced”
Student
becomes
a


“Relocated”
Student


One	of	the	unanticipated	questions	arising	after	hurricanes	Katrina	and	Rita	related	to	

what	to	do	when	a	temporarily	displaced	student	became	a	permanently	relocated	student.	

In	other	words,	when	is	tracking	a	displaced	student	no	longer	necessary	because	the	child	

had	permanently	relocated	following	the	crisis?	In	preparation	for	this	decisionmaking,	a	

disaster	recovery	team	should	work	with	local	or	state	authorities	to	determine	how	long	

the	displaced	student	indicator	will	be	used	and	how	long	it	will	remain	attached	to	a	

student’s	record.	These	are	important	questions	given	the	stigma	sometimes	attached	to	

being	labeled	“displaced”	or	“homeless,”	especially	for	a	long	time.	The	following	issues	

should	be	addressed	to	effectively	manage	the	use	of	a	displaced	student	indicator:	

 At	what	point	following	a	crisis	does	a	temporarily	displaced	student	become	a	

permanently	relocated	student?	

 How	many	times	(i.e.,	for	how	many	different	moves)	can	a	displaced	student	flag	

be	used?	

 What	information	is	needed	about	students	already	enrolled	in	school	who	are	

forced	into	an	alternative	setting	because	of	the	influx	of	displaced	students?	

Should	they	be	flagged	as	displaced	students?	

 Do	funding	or	accountability	needs	require	maintaining	the	displaced	student	

data	for	a	specific	amount	of	time?	If	so,	how	long	should	the	flag	be	included	in	

student	records	once	students	are	no	longer	displaced?	

Chapter
5	Data	Challenges	 27 

Chapter
6


RECOMMEndEd
CRISIS
dATA


MAnAgEMEnT
ChECKlIST


The	immediate	demand	for	data	about	students	displaced	by	hurricanes	Katrina	and	Rita	

was	overwhelming	for	many	school	districts	that	gained	or	lost	students	because	of	the	

disasters.	This	guide	provides	recommendations	for	developing	and	maintaining	data	about	

students	moving	in	or	out	of	your	agency	because	of	a	crisis.	These	recommendations	

are	not	a	comprehensive	disaster	recovery	planning	tool.	Rather,	they	are	limited	to	data	

system	planning	activities	intended	to	minimize	the	impact	of	a	crisis	and	preserve	or	

restore	educational	services	to	students	following	a	crisis.	

The	items	below	summarize	critical	data	issues	for	an	agency	before,	during,	and	

after	a	crisis.	Additional	details	about	these	planning	and	response	activities	are	available	in	

chapters	2	through	5.	

Before
a
Crisis:
Planning
for
displaced
Student
data


 evAluAte your disAster reCovery teAm 

•		Ensure	data	management	specialists	are	represented	on	your	agency’s	disaster	

recovery	team	and,	when	appropriate,	that	a	“data	subgroup”	is	established.	

 Assess existing student dAtA systems 

•		Automate	all	data	systems	and	maintain	all	data	in	an	appropriate	electronic	

format.	

•		Verify	that	your	student	data	systems	are	flexible	enough	to	permit	the	creation	

of	new	applications	and	file	formats	as	needed	in	a	crisis	situation.	

 implement plACeholders for displACed student dAtA elements 

•		Implement	a	displaced	student	indicator	and	associated	crisis	event	table	

before	they	are	needed	in	a	crisis.	

•		In	addition	to	a	code	that	identifies	a	crisis,	consider	including	other	

information	to	fully	explain	the	event,	including	crisis	name,	crisis	type,	crisis	

start	date,	and	a	crisis	descriptor.	

•		SEAs:	Prepare	to	collect	displaced	student	information	from	LEAs	to	meet	

state	and	federal	reporting	requirements	related	to	a	declared	crisis.	

•		SEAs	and	LEAs:	Coordinate,	communicate	and	confirm	data	items	and	file	

formats	before	setting	up	any	new	elements	or	systems.	

 mAintAin dAtA elements 

•		Review	and	maintain	all	basic	student	data	items	in	your	SIS.	In	addition	to	

basic	student	information,	users	must	be	able	to	access	related	data	in	other	

Chapter
6
Recommended	Crisis	Data	Management	Checklist	

In this guide, a crisis 

is defined as “any 

natural or manmade 

event that causes 

the displacement of 

students.”A displaced 

student is defined as 

“a student who was 

enrolled or eligible 

for enrollment but, 

because of a crisis, 

has enrolled in 

another place.” 

29 
systems	including,	for	example,	records	from	facilities,	security,	transportation,	

programs	and	services,	and	staff	data	systems.	Several	national	data	standards	

are	available	to	inform	these	activities	as	necessary.	

•		Because	federal	agencies	emphasize	county-level	action,	be	aware	of	your	FIPS	

resources,	including	the	national	databases.	The	National	Center	for	Education	

Statistics	has	an	online	tool	that	allows	users	to	obtain	FIPS	County	Codes	

for	all	public	schools	and	districts	in	the	United	States,	available	at:	http://nces.


ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/index.asp.


 review the frequenCy And timing of dAtA ColleCtions 

•		Know	the	frequency	and	timing	of	your	agency’s	current	data	collections.	

•		Be	prepared	to	introduce	additional	data	collections	or	collection	cycles	as	

necessary.	

 review dAtA poliCies And proCedures 

•		Review	and	understand	current	federal,	state,	and	local	data	policies	and	

procedures.	

during
a
Crisis:
Collecting
and
disseminating
data
about
displaced
Students


 evAluAte the Crisis deClArAtion 

•		The	disaster	recovery	team	should	determine	the	organization’s	response	based	

on	the	nature	and	scale	of	the	crisis	and	clearly	communicate	data	action	plans	

to	staff	at	all	levels	of	the	education	enterprise.	

 Assess dAtA systems 

•		Inventory	data	systems	and	determine	whether	any	data	have	been	lost	or	

otherwise	made	inaccessible.	

•		Use	a	formal	chain	of	communication	between	agencies	to	initiate	collection	

of	displaced	student	identifiers.	

•		Protect	and	respect	the	confidentiality	of	education	data.	

•		Be	prepared	to	query	and	analyze	aggregate	data	in	a	variety	of	ways	to	support	

decisionmaking	during	a	crisis.	

•		SEAs:	Consider	utilizing	a	temporary	database	to	help	share	displaced	student	

data	during	a	crisis.	

After
a
Crisis:
displaced
Student
data
Reporting
and
Evaluation


 review ongoing dAtA shAring 

•		Recognize	that	tracking	displaced	students	following	a	crisis	is	an	ongoing	

process	given	the	high	likelihood	of	multiple	enrollments	and	withdrawals	by	

displaced	students.	

 plAn stAte And federAl reporting 

•		Consider	the	possibility	of	the	SEA	stepping	in	as	the	fiscal	agent	for	LEAs	

when	requesting	Impact	Aid	and	other	federal	support.	

•		Footnote	reports	and	other	published	data	when	marked	changes	may	be	a	

function	of	student	displacement	rather	than	normal	measures	of	progress	and	

participation.	

30 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
 disContinue temporAry systems 

•		Formulate	a	plan	to	archive	or	destroy	temporary	data	systems	based	on	

usage	agreements,	confidentiality	expectations,	and	other	data	lifecycle	

considerations.	

 evAluAtion 

•		Evaluate	the	effectiveness	of	your	agency’s	disaster	recovery	plan	to	improve	

future	planning	efforts	and	emergency	responses.	

 other ChAllenges 

•		Proactively	address	issues	that	frequently	challenge	organizations,	including

- Statewide	Student	Information	Systems	(SIS)	

- Unique,	statewide	student	identifiers	

- Timing	of	crises	

- Displacement	status	

Crisis
data
Management
Timeline


The	Crisis	Data	Management	Timeline	below	is	based	on	the	major	planning	and	response	

components	described	in	this	guide.	Additional	details	about	these	planning	and	response	

activities	can	be	found	in	earlier	chapters.	

Before
a
Crisis
 during
a
Crisis
 After
a
Crisis


Crisis 

declaration 

Ongoing data 

sharing 

Review frequency 

and timing of 

data collections 

Retrieve 

and restore 

lost data 

State and federal reporting 

Implement 

displaced student 

data placeholders 

Communicate 

use of 

crisis indicator 

Discontinue 

temporary 

systems 

Share data 

Evaluation 

Evaluate 

disaster 

recovery team 

Review 

data policies 

and procedures 

Assess existing student data systems 

Maintain data elements 

Communication
between
schools,
districts,
and
states.


p. 7 

p. 14 

p. 14 

p. 8 

p. 23 

p. 23 

p. 21 

p. 21 

p. 18 

p. 18 

p. 17 

p. 17 

p.13 

p. 8 

Chapter
6
Recommended	Crisis	Data	Management	Checklist	 31 
Conclusion


Educators	have	always	been	committed	to	providing	high	quality	educational	services	

to	all	students,	but	crises,	in	some	form	or	another,	will	continue	to	disrupt	the	lives	of	

students,	schools,	education	agencies,	and	communities.	The	ability	to	efficiently	and	

accurately	track	displaced	students	allows	an	education	agency	to	continue	educational	

services	during	and	after	a	crisis.	This	resource	provides	actionable	guidance	to	support	the	

development	and	maintenance	of	timely,	accurate	data	about	displaced	students	moving	in	

or	out	of	your	agency.	

Several	issues	relevant	to	crisis	data	management	are	beyond	the	scope	of	this	

document,	such	as	the	displacement	of	teachers	and	staff.	During	hurricanes	Katrina	and	

Rita,	many	of	the	same	issues	affecting	the	tracking	of	displaced	students	also	applied	

to	locating	displaced	staff,	although	some	concerns,	such	as	identifying	a	teacher’s	

certification	status,	were	unique	to	staff	as	they	sought	work	in	other	school	districts.		

Similarly,	tracking	health	and	finance	data	beyond	education	records	is	an	important	issue	

for	planners,	but	outside	of	the	scope	of	this	resource.	

One	final	issue	not	addressed	in	this	document	is	the	impact	that	schools,	districts,	

and	states	can	have	on	federal	policies	to	improve	how	the	education	community	deals	

with	future	crises.	The	experiences	of	states	and	districts	are	an	invaluable	resource	for	

federal	decisionmaking.	It	is	hoped	that	crisis	management	planning	undertaken	by	

education	data	system	managers	will	lead	to	additional	questions,	ideas,	and	actions	that	

can	benefit	us	all	during	future	crises.	

32 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
Appendix
A



FORUM
And
OThER



nCES
RESOURCES



http://www.nces.ed.gov/programs/handbook


The	NCES
Handbooks	are	a	valuable	source	of	metadata	for	organizations	and	individuals	

interested	in	education	data.	These	print	and	online	resources	define	standard	education	

terms	for	students,	staff,	schools,	local	education	agencies,	intermediate	education	agencies,	

and	state	education	agencies.	The	Handbooks	are	intended	as	reference	documents	for	

public	and	private	organizations,	including	education	institutions	and	early	childhood	

centers,	as	well	as	education	researchers	and	other	users	of	education	data.	In	order	to	

improve	access	to	this	valuable	resource,	NCES	has	also	developed	the	NCES
Handbooks


Online,	a	web-based	tool	that	allows	users	to	view	and	download	information	via	an	

electronic	table	of	contents,	a	drill-down	finder,	element	name	and	first	letter	searches,	and	

advanced	query	options.	

Every
School
day
Counts:The
Forum
guide
to
Collecting
and


Using
Attendance
data
(nFES
2009–804)


http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009804


This	guide	offers	best	practice	suggestions	on	collecting	and	using	

student	attendance	data	to	improve	performance.	A	standard	set	of	

codes	to	improve	the	comparability	of	attendance	data	across	districts	

and	states	is	included.	The	publication	also	presents	real-life	examples	

of	how	attendance	information	has	been	used	by	school	districts.	

nCES
handbooks
and
nCES
handbooks
Online


Education
data
Model
Version
1
(PK–12)


http://nces.ed.gov/forum/datamodel/index.aspx


This	resource	provides	a	catalog	of	the	data	used	in	PK–12	education	and	a	description	of	

the	relationships	among	those	data.	The	supporting	website	includes	helpful	documents,	

usage	vignettes,	a	web-based	tool	for	browsing	the	Data	Model,	and	links	to	open-source	

tools	that	can	be	used	for	viewing,	exploring,	and	applying	the	model.	

Appendix
A	Forum	and	Other	NCES	Resources	 33 
Managing
an
Identity
Crisis:
Forum
guide
to
Implementing
new
Federal


Race
and
Ethnicity
Categories
(nFES
2008–802)


http://nces.ed.gov/forum/pub_2008802.asp


This	best-practice	guide	was	developed	to	help	state	and	local	

education	agencies	implement	new	federal	race	and	ethnicity	

categories,	thereby	reducing	redundant	efforts	within	and	across	states,	

improving	data	comparability,	and	minimizing	reporting	burden.	Users	

may	select	and	adopt	strategies	that	will	help	them	quickly	begin	the	

process	of	implementation	in	their	agencies.	

Forum
Curriculum
for
Improving
Education
data:A
Resource
for
local


Education
Agencies
(nCES
2007–808)


http://nces.ed.gov/forum/pub_2007808.asp


This	curriculum	supports	efforts	to	improve	the	quality	of	education	

data	by	serving	as	training	material	for	K–12	school	and	district	

staff.	Lesson	plans,	instructional	handouts,	and	related	resources	are	

provided,	as	are	concepts	necessary	to	help	schools	develop	a	culture	

for	improving	data	quality.	

Forum
guide
to
the
Privacy
of
Student
Information:A
Resource
for
Schools


(nFES
2006–805)


http://nces.ed.gov/forum/pub_2006805.asp


This	publication	helps	school	and	local	education	agency	staff	better	

understand	and	apply	the	Family	Educational	Rights	and	Privacy	Act	

(FERPA),	a	federal	law	that	protects	the	privacy	interests	of	parents	

and	students	in	student	education	records.	It	defines	terms	such	as	

“education	records”	and	“directory	information”;	and	offers	guidance	

for	developing	privacy	policies	and	information	disclosure	procedures	

related	to	military	recruiting,	parental	rights	and	annual	notification,	

videotaping,	online	information,	media	releases,	surveillance	cameras,	and	confidentiality	

concerns	related	specifically	to	health-related	information.	Much	of	the	guidance	relating	

to	privacy	policies	would	be	of	interest	to	organizations	generating	business	rules	about	

the	topic.	

Accounting
for
Every
Student:A
Taxonomy
for
Standard
Student
Exit
Codes


(nCES
2006–804)


http://nces.ed.gov/forum/pub_2006804.asp


This	best-practice	guide	presents	an	exhaustive	and	mutually	exclusive	

exit	code	taxonomy	that	accounts,	at	any	single	point	in	time,	for	

all	students	enrolled	(or	previously	enrolled)	in	a	particular	school	

or	district.	It	is	based	on	exit	code	systems	used	in	state	education	

agencies	across	the	nation,	and	on	a	thorough	review	of	existing	

literature	on	the	subject.	

34 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
Forum’s
Technology
Suite


http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/tech_suite


This	online	resource	combines	material	from	previously	published	Forum	guides	into	one	

comprehensive	document	that	will	be	updated	periodically.	The	suite	presents	a	practical,	

comprehensive,	and	proven	approach	to	assessing,	acquiring,	instituting,	managing,	

securing,	and	using	technology	in	education	settings.	

Forum
guide
to
Building
a
Culture
of
Quality
data:


A
School
and
district
Resource
(nCES
2005–801)


http://nces.ed.gov/forum/pub_2005801.asp


This	publication	asserts	that	good	data,	like	good	students,	are	

produced	in	schools.	While	it	is	undeniably	harder	to	teach	a	student	

than	it	is	to	collect	statistics,	certain	procedures	can	help	achieve	

both	goals.	Recently,	awareness	has	grown	about	the	link	between	

effective	teaching,	efficient	schools,	and	quality	data.	The	quality	of	

information	used	to	develop	an	instructional	plan,	run	a	school,	plan	

a	budget,	or	place	a	student	in	a	class	depends	on	the	school	data	

clerk,	teacher,	counselor,	and/or	school	secretary	who	enter	data	into	a	

computer.	With	that	in	mind,	the	focus	of	this	report	is	on	data	entry—getting	things	right	

at	the	source.	

Forum
guide
to
Protecting
the
Privacy
of
Student
Information:


State
and
local
Education
Agencies
(nCES
2004–330)


http://nces.ed.gov/forum/pub_2004330.asp


This	guide	presents	a	general	overview	of	privacy	laws	and	professional	

practices	that	apply	to	information	collected	for,	and	maintained	in,	

student	records.	It	also	provides	an	overview	of	key	principles	and	

concepts	governing	student	privacy;	summarizes	federal	privacy	laws	

including	recent	changes;	identifies	issues	concerning	the	release	of	

information	to	parents	and	external	organizations;	and	suggests	good	

data	management	practices	for	schools,	districts,	and	state	education	

agencies.	Much	of	the	guidance	relating	to	privacy	policies	would	be	of	interest	to	

organizations	generating	business	rules	about	the	topic.	

Forum
guide
to
Metadata:



The
Meaning
Behind
Education
data
(nCES
2009-805)



http://nces.ed.gov/forum/pub_2009805.asp


The	purpose	of	this	guide	is	to	empower	people	to	more	effectively	

use	data	as	information	through	the	use	of	metadata	(data	about	data).	

To	accomplish	this,	the	publication	explains	what	metadata	are,	why	

they	are	critical	to	the	development	of	sound	education	data	systems,	

what	components	comprise	a	metadata	system,	what	value	metadata	

bring	to	data	management	and	use,	and	how	to	implement	and	use	a	

metadata	system	in	an	education	organization.	

Appendix
A	Forum	and	Other	NCES	Resources	 35 

Appendix
B



UndERSTAndIng
RElEVAnT


FEdERAl
lAwS


This	appendix	provides	an	overview	of	four	important	federal	laws	that	affect	displaced	

students.	(The	information	was	obtained	from	the	cited	websites.)	

Family
Educational
Rights
and
Privacy
Act
(FERPA)


FERPA	(20	U.S.C.	§	1232g;	34	CFR	Part	99)	is	a	Federal	law	that	protects	the	privacy	of	

student	education	records.	It	affords	parents	the	right	to	access	and	amend	their	children’s	

education	records,	and	gives	them	some	control	over	the	disclosure	of	the	information	in	

these	records.	Students	and	their	parents	entrust	schools	with	their	personal	information	

with	the	expectation	that	this	information	will	be	used	by	the	schools	to	serve	the	needs	

of	the	students	effectively	and	efficiently.	School	districts	maintain	and	use	personal	

information	for	a	variety	of	educational	purposes	while	students	are	in	school.	To	protect	

the	privacy	of	students	and	their	families,	school	staff	are	legally	and	ethically	responsible	

for	safeguarding	the	information	collected	about	and	from	students.	

In	an	emergency,	FERPA	permits	school	officials	to	disclose	without	consent	

education	records,	including	personally	identifiable	information	from	those	records,	to	

protect	the	health	or	safety	of	students	or	other	individuals.	At	such	times,	records	and	

information	may	be	released	to	appropriate	parties	such	as	law	enforcement	officials,	

public	health	officials,	and	trained	medical	personnel.	See	34	CFR	§	99.31(a)(10)	and	§	

99.36.	This	exception	is	limited	to	the	period	of	the	emergency	and	generally	does	not	

allow	for	a	blanket	release	of	personally	identifiable	information	from	a	student’s	education	

records.	

Generally,	schools	must	have	written	permission	from	the	parent	or	eligible	student	

in	order	to	release	any	information	from	a	student’s	education	record.	However,	FERPA	

allows	schools	to	disclose	those	records,	without	consent,	to	the	following	parties	or	under	

the	following	conditions	(34	CFR	§	99.31):	

•	school	officials	with	legitimate	educational	interest;

•	other	schools	to	which	a	student	is	transferring;

•	specified	officials	for	audit	or	evaluation	purposes;

•	appropriate	parties	in	connection	with	financial	aid	to	a	student;

•	organizations	conducting	certain	studies	for,	or	on	behalf	of,	the	school;

•	accrediting	organizations;

•	to	comply	with	a	judicial	order	or	lawfully	issued	subpoena;	

•	appropriate	officials	in	cases	of	health	and	safety	emergencies;	and

•		state	and	local	authorities,	within	a	juvenile	justice	system,	pursuant	to	specific	

state	law.	

Appendix
B	Understanding	Relevant	Federal	Laws	 37 
Schools	may	disclose,	without	consent,	“directory”	information	such	as	a	student’s	

name,	address,	telephone	number,	date	and	place	of	birth,	honors	and	awards,	and	dates	

of	attendance.	However,	schools	must	tell	parents	and	eligible	students	about	directory	

information,	and	allow	parents	and	eligible	students	a	reasonable	amount	of	time	to	

request	that	the	school	not	disclose	directory	information	about	them.	Schools	must	notify	

parents	and	eligible	students	annually	of	their	rights	under	FERPA.	

The	FERPA	website:	http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html


McKinney–Vento
Act


The	McKinney–Vento	Homeless	Assistance	Act	protects	the	educational	rights	of	students	

experiencing	homelessness.	It	provides	legal	protections	so	that	children	and	youth	in	

homeless	situations	can	enroll	in,	attend,	and	succeed	in	school	and	preschool	programs.	

It	also	establishes	procedures	to	enroll	children	quickly,	assess	their	needs,	and	provide	

services.	Finally,	the	McKinney–Vento	Act	requires	that	every	school	district	designate	

a	local	homeless	education	liaison;	the	local	liaison	is	the	district’s	point	person	for	

addressing	needs	that	derive	from	loss	of	housing	and	is,	therefore,	a	key	contact	for	relief	

agencies.	Students	who	are	displaced	by	a	crisis	are	generally	covered	by	the	McKinney–	

Vento	Act.	

The	following	is	the	policy	of	the	Congress:	

(1)	Each	state	educational	agency	shall	ensure	that	each	child	of	a	homeless	

individual	and	each	homeless	youth	has	equal	access	to	the	same	free,	appropriate	

public	education,	including	a	public	preschool	education,	as	provided	to	other	

children	and	youths.	

(2)	In	any	state	that	has	a	compulsory	residency	requirement	as	a	component	of	the	

state’s	compulsory	school	attendance	laws	or	other	laws,	regulations,	practices,	

or	policies	that	may	act	as	a	barrier	to	the	enrollment,	attendance,	or	success	in	

school	of	homeless	children	and	youths,	the	state	will	review	and	undertake	steps	

to	revise	such	laws,	regulations,	practices,	or	policies	to	ensure	that	homeless	

children	and	youths	are	afforded	the	same	free,	appropriate	public	education	as	

provided	to	other	children	and	youths.	

(3)	Homelessness	alone	is	not	sufficient	reason	to	separate	students	from	the	

mainstream	school	environment.	

(4)	Homeless	children	and	youths	should	have	access	to	the	education	and	other	

services	that	such	children	and	youths	need	to	ensure	that	such	children	and	

youths	have	an	opportunity	to	meet	the	same	challenging	state	student	academic	

achievement	standards	to	which	all	students	are	held.	

The	term	“homeless	children	and	youths”	

(A)	means	individuals	who	lack	a	fixed,	regular,	and	adequate	nighttime	residence	

[within	the	meaning	of	section	103(a)(1)];	and	

(B)	includes	

(i)	children	and	youths	who	are	sharing	the	housing	of	other	persons	due	to	

loss	of	housing,	economic	hardship,	or	a	similar	reason;	are	living	in	motels,	

hotels,	trailer	parks,	or	camping	grounds	due	to	the	lack	of	alternative	

adequate	accommodations;	are	living	in	emergency	or	transitional	shelters;	

are	abandoned	in	hospitals;	or	are	awaiting	foster	care	placement;	

38 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
(ii)	children	and	youths	who	have	a	primary	nighttime	residence	that	is	a	public	

or	private	place	not	designed	for,	or	ordinarily	used	as,	a	regular	sleeping	

accommodation	for	human	beings	[within	the	meaning	of	section	

103(a)(2)(C)];	

(iii)	children	and	youths	who	are	living	in	cars,	parks,	public	spaces,	abandoned	

buildings,	substandard	housing,	bus	or	train	stations,	or	similar	settings;	and	

(iv)	migratory	children	(as	such	term	is	defined	in	section	1309	of	the	

Elementary	and	Secondary	Education	Act	of	1965)	who	qualify	as	

homeless	for	the	purposes	of	this	subtitle	because	the	children	are	living	in	

circumstances	described	in	clauses	(i)	through	(iii).	

The	McKinney–Vento	Website:	http://www.ed.gov/propgrams/homeless/index.html


health
Insurance
Portability
and
Accountability
Act


(hIPAA)


In	1996,	Congress	enacted	the	Health	Insurance	Portability	and	Accountability	Act	

(HIPAA)	to	ensure	continued	health	insurance	coverage	to	individuals	who	change	jobs,	

and	to	establish	standards	regarding	the	electronic	sharing	of	health	information.	For	

purposes	of	HIPAA,	“covered	entities”	include	health	plans,	health	care	clearinghouses,	

and	health	care	providers	that	transmit	health	information	in	electronic	form	in	

connection	with	covered	transactions	(45	CFR	160.103).	

Technically,	schools	and	school	systems	that	provide	health	care	services	to	students	may	

qualify	as	“covered	entities”	under	HIPAA.	However,	the	final	regulations	for	the	HIPAA	

Privacy	Rule	exclude	information	considered	“education	records”	under	FERPA	from	

HIPAA	privacy	requirements.	This	includes	student	health	records	and	immunization	

records	maintained	by	an	education	agency	or	institution,	or	its	representative;	as	

“education	records”	subject	to	FERPA,	these	files	are	not	subject	to	HIPAA	privacy	

requirements.	In	addition,	school	nurse	or	other	health	records	maintained	on	students	

receiving	services	under	the	Individuals	with	Disabilities	Education	Act	(IDEA)	are	

considered	“education	records”	and	also	subject	to	that	Act’s	confidentiality	provisions.	

Consequently,	these	records	are	subject	to	FERPA	and	not	the	HIPAA	Privacy	Rule.	

Nevertheless,	certain	activities,	when	performed	by	a	school,	could	be	subject	to	other	

provisions	of	HIPAA	that	concern	electronic	transactions.	According	to	the	preamble	

to	the	December	2000	final	rules,	“the	educational	institution	or	agency	that	employs	

a	school	nurse	is	subject	to	our	(HIPAA)	regulation	if	the	school	nurse	or	the	school	

engages	in	a	HIPAA	transaction.”	HIPAA	transactions	are	defined	in	the	Code	of	Federal	

Regulations	(CFR)	as	“the	transmission	of	information	between	two	parties	to	carry	out	

financial	or	administrative	activities	related	to	health	care,”	including	submitting	claims.	

However,	consent	must	still	be	secured	under	FERPA	before	the	records	are	disclosed.	

The	HIPPA	Website:	http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa


Appendix
B	Understanding	Relevant	Federal	Laws	 39 
US
department
of
Education’s
hurricane
Recovery
Act


and
Emergency
Impact
Aid
for
displaced
Students


The	mission	of	the	Impact	Aid	Program	is	to	disburse	Impact	Aid	payments	to	local	

educational	agencies	that	are	financially	burdened	by	federal	activities	and	to	provide	

technical	assistance	and	support	services	to	staff	and	other	interested	parties.	

The	Hurricane	Recovery	Act	authorized	three	grant	programs	to	assist	school	districts	

and	schools	in	meeting	the	educational	needs	of	students	displaced	by	Hurricanes	Katrina	

and	Rita	and	in	helping	schools	that	were	closed	as	a	result	of	the	hurricanes	to	reopen	

as	quickly	and	effectively	as	possible.	Under	this	program,	the	Department	awarded	

emergency	Impact	Aid	funding	to	SEAs.	SEAs	provided	assistance	to	LEAs	for	the	cost	

of	educating	students	enrolled	in	public	and	nonpublic	schools	who	were	displaced	by	

Hurricanes	Katrina	and	Rita	during	the	school	year	2005–2006.	

The	Hurricane	Help	for	Schools	Website:	http://www.hurricanehelpforschools.gov


U.S.	Department	of	Education	Impact	Aid	Office	Website:	http://www.ed.gov/about/


offices/list/oese/impactaid/index.html


40 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
Appendix
C



glOSSARY


Terms
used
in
this
guide


Crisis:	Any	natural	or	manmade	event	that	causes	an	unstable	or	dangerous	situation.	

A	crisis	sometimes,	although	not	always,	results	in	the	displacement	of	students.	In	

this	document,	a	crisis	is	defined	as	“any	natural	or	manmade	event	that	causes	the	

displacement	of	students.”	

Crisis
event
table:	A	data	table	that	identifies	and	describes	a	crisis.	

displaced
student
indicator:	An	indicator	that	flags	a	student	displaced	by	a	crisis	

(usually	associated	with	a	specific	crisis	code	in	a	student	record).	

disaster
recovery
team:	High-level	agency	staff	responsible	for	minimizing	the	impact	

of	a	crisis	and	preserving	or	restoring	educational	services	to	students	during	and	following	

a	crisis.	

data
steward:	An	individual	(or	individuals)	responsible	for	ensuring	the	quality	of	

statistical	information	generated	by	an	organization.	Data	stewards	also	generally	assume	

responsibility	for	enhancing	the	information	reporting	process	through	staff	development	

and	by	sharing	data	expertise	with	the	various	offices	and	programs	that	produce	data	and	

information	in	an	organization.	

disaster:
A	sudden,	calamitous	event	causing	substantial	damage,	loss,	or	destruction.	See	

also	FEMA-declared	disaster.	

disaster
recovery:	The	process,	policies,	and	procedures	related	to	restoring	or	

continuing	critical	business	activities	in	an	organization	after	a	natural	or	human-induced	

disaster.	With	respect	to	data,	it	is	the	process,	policies,	and	procedures	for	regaining	access	

to	data—records,	hardware,	software,	etc.—and	communications.	

disaster
recovery
planning:
A	subset	of	a	larger	process	known	as	“business	continuity	

planning”	that	focuses	on	the	creation	and	validation	of	a	practiced	logistical	plan	for	

recovering	and	restoring	interrupted	critical	functions	following	a	disaster	or	extended	

disruption.	With	respect	to	data,	it	is	the	preparation	for	the	resumption	of	applications,	

data,	hardware,	communications,	networking.	and	other	IT	infrastructure	following	a	

disaster.	

Appendix
C	Glossary	 41 
displaced
student:	A	student	who	was	enrolled,	or	eligible	for	enrollment,	but	due	to	a	

crisis	has	enrolled	in	another	place.	

FEMA-declared
disaster:	An	event	that	the	Federal	Emergency	Management	Agency	

has	formally	recognized	as	a	disaster	based	on	its	predefined	criteria.	The	federal	disaster	

law	restricts	the	use	of	arithmetical	formulas	or	other	objective	standards	as	the	sole	basis	

for	determining	the	need	for	federal	supplemental	aid.	As	a	result,	FEMA	uses	a	number	

of	factors	to	determine	a	disaster’s	severity,	magnitude,	and	impact.	In	evaluating	a	state	

governor’s	request	for	a	“major	disaster”	declaration,	a	number	of	primary	factors	and	other	

relevant	information	are	considered	in	developing	a	recommendation	to	the	President	for	

supplemental	disaster	assistance.	Primary	factors	considered	include	

•		the	amount	and	type	of	damage	(number	of	homes	destroyed	or	with	major	

damage);	

•		the	impact	on	the	infrastructure	of	affected	areas	or	critical	facilities;

•		imminent	threats	to	public	health	and	safety;

•		the	impact	to	essential	government	services	and	functions;

•		the	unique	capability	of	the	federal	government;

•		the	dispersion	or	concentration	of	damage;

•		the	level	of	insurance	coverage	in	place	for	homeowners	and	public	facilities;

•		assistance	available	from	other	sources	(federal,	state,	local,	voluntary	

organizations);	

•		state	and	local	resource	commitments	from	previous,	undeclared	events;	and

•		the	frequency	of	disasters	over	recent	time	period.

FIPS
County
code:	A	five-digit,	Federal	Information	Processing	Standard	(FIPS)	code	

that	uniquely	identifies	counties	and	county	equivalents	in	the	United	States,	as	well	as	

certain	U.S.	possessions	and	freely	associated	states.	The	first	two	digits	are	the	FIPS	state	

code	and	the	last	three	are	the	county	code	within	the	state	or	possession.	For	example,	in	

the	code	“48453,”	48	represents	Texas	and	453	is	Travis	County.	(See	http://www.epa.gov/


enviro/html/codes/state.html
and	http://www.census.gov/geo/www/fips/fips65/index.html)


homeschooling:	The	education	of	children	at	home,	typically	by	parents	but	sometimes	

by	tutors,	rather	than	in	a	formal	setting	of	public	or	private	school.	Homeschooling	is	

a	legal	option	for	parents	who	wish	to	provide	their	children	with	a	different	learning	

environment	than	exists	in	nearby	schools.	

nonpublic
school:	An	institution	that	provides	educational	services	and	is	primarily	

funded	by	nonpublic	funds	(e.g.,	tuition).	

Student
record:	An	education	document	or	system	maintained	by	the	district	in	which	a	

student	is	enrolled.	Student	records	typically	contain	demographic	data,	school	enrollment,	

grade	assignments,	promotions	and	retentions,	grades,	credits	earned,	participation	in	

special	programs,	test	scores,	etc.	

Temporary
data
exchange:	An	agreement	of	limited	duration	between	two	

organizations	that	permits	data	to	be	shared.	Depending	on	the	nature	of	the	agreement,	

the	receiving	agency	generally	is	expected	to	destroy	or	return	the	data	at	the	end	of	a	

specified	period	of	time.	

42 Crisis
Data
Management:	A	Forum	Guide	to	Collecting	and	Managing	Data	about	Displaced	Students	
Acronyms
used
in
this
guide


AdA:	Average	Daily	Attendance	

AdM:	Average	Daily	Membership	

FEMA:	Federal	Emergency	Management	Agency	

FERPA:	Family	Educational	Rights	and	Privacy	Act	

FIPS:	Federal	Information	Processing	Standard	

FTE:	Full-Time	Equivalent	

IEU:	Intermediate	Education	Unit	

lEA:	Local	Education	Agency	

nCES:	National	Center	for	Education	Statistics	

SEA:	State	Education	Agency	

SIS:	Student	Information	System	

USEd:
United	States	Department	of	Education	

Appendix
C	Glossary	 43 

Appendix
D


AddITIOnAl
RESOURCES



National	Center	for	Homeless	Education	(2006).	What
School
District
Administrators
Should


Know
About
the
Educational
Rights
of
Children
Displaced
by
Disasters.	Available	at	http://www.


serve.org/nche.


National	Center	for	Homeless	Education	(2006).	School
as
a
Safety
Net:
Connecting
Displaced


Children
With
Educational
and
Support
Services.	Available	at	http://www.serve.org/nche.


Rand	Gulf	State	Policy	Institute	(2006).	Student
Displacement
in
Louisiana
After
the
Hurricanes


of
2005:
Experiences
of
Public
Schools
and
Their
Students.	Available	at	http://www.rand.org/rgspi.


Southern	Education	Foundation	(2007).	Education
after
Katrina:
Time
for
a
New
Federal


Response.	Available	at	http://www.southerneducation.org


Texas	Education	Agency	(2006).	TEA
2006
Accountability
Manual.	Available	at	http://www.


tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/2006/manual


Texas	Education	Agency	(2007).	Secondary
School
Completion
and
Dropouts
in
Texas
Public


Schools
2005–06.	Available	at:	http://www.tea.state.tx.us/research.


State	websites:		

Texas	Portal	for	Katrina/Rita:	http://www.state.tx.us/portal/tol/en/hurricane-katrina



Hurricane	Ike	IRS	Disaster	Relief:	http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=186874,00.html



Texas	Governor’s	Hurricane	Recovery:	http://www.governor.state.tx.us/hurricane/



PEIMS	Crisis	Code	Reporting	for	Students	Displaced	by	Hurricane	Ike:		

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/peims092508.html



Texas	Education	Hurricane	Information:	http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/hurricane



Louisiana	Hurricane	Educator	Assistance	Program	(HEAP):		

http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/tsac/2707.html


Louisiana	Foreign	Donations:	http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/finance/2421.html


Louisiana	Restart	Aid:	http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/impactaid/iarso.aspx


Louisiana	Emergency	Information	Directory:	http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/emergency.html


Louisiana	Impact	Aid:	http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/impactaid/aid.aspx


Louisiana	Department	of	Education	Emergency	Blog:	http://emergencylde.blogspot.com/


Mississippi	Katrina	Recovery	Information:	http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Katrina/


Appendix
d	Additional	Resources	 45