Consumer Privacy violation

[lynben03]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA - My financial informaition, supplied to a school, for the purpose of financial aid verification, was shared with another parent, without my consent. Since this is a non-profit, would I have a case against the school citing the CA Privacy Act?

[quincy]

It really depends on what sort of financial information was disclosed and for what purpose.

California's Information Practices Act and the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act will protect most financial information from disclosure. There is very limited access granted to "confidential" personal information and when confidential personal financial information must be accessed or disclosed, there is generally required a notice to the person subject to such disclosure.

Financial information provided on a financial aid form, however, must be verified and, therefore, some of the financial information on these forms must be disclosed in order for the person handling the information to perform the function of his/her job.

If you are concerned that confidential financial information was disclosed with no legitimate educational purpose and that the disclosure of this information was an unwarranted invasion of your personal privacy, you can run all of the facts by an attorney in your area for a review.