COVID-19 testing results accidentally shared with some LAUSD parents

The names of some Los Angeles Unified School District students who previously tested positive for the coronavirus appear to have been accidentally shared with certain parents, as emails about their children’s need to resume COVID-19 testing were sent to families who should not have gotten the notices.

According to a tweet posted by LA Parent Union, the district shared the names of students who have recovered from the coronavirus and who will soon have to resume mandatory COVID-19 testing because their exemption period is expiring.

The tweet included a screenshot of one parent’s inbox with emails from the district, each one presumably identifying a student who needs to start testing again. The tweet also included a screenshot of one of the emails, with a note saying that parents received these notices, which were not about their own children. Email addresses and names were blacked out in the post.

The district confirmed on Wednesday, Nov. 24, that certain test result information had been sent to “unauthorized people” but would not say how many individuals had their information shared or whether it affected only students, staff or both groups.

“Los Angeles Unified learned from our information system vendor Microsoft that it had inadvertently sent emails containing COVID-19 test result information to a limited number of unauthorized people, including other Los Angeles Unified parents,” reads a district statement. “Microsoft has informed us that the problem resulted from a programming error, and Microsoft assures us that the problem has been corrected. We continue to monitor this situation closely.”

The incident occurred Monday, according to the district.