Yost: ODE could save $430,000 annually by moving student information database in-house
Moving Ohio’s outsourced Statewide Student Identifier system (SSID) to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) could save more than $430,000 annually, or $4.3 million over a 10-year period, according to an interim performance audit report released this week by Auditor of State Dave Yost.
Ohio law currently precludes ODE from accessing student personal information. The performance audit recommends that the General Assembly change the law to allow ODE access, consistent with federal privacy protections.'
“You don’t have to blind ODE to protect Ohio students,” Auditor Yost said.
“Only one other state does something like this, and denying the data to ODE wastes time and money.”
The report identified current annual costs exceeding $752,000 to maintain SSID with an outside vendor.
[[In-content Ad]]
Moving the database in-house would reduce this cost by more than half. Additional savings would result from avoiding occasional one-time updates to the system, which have cost ODE more than $680,000 since 2004.
Non-quantified savings also could result from reduced work at Ohio’s school districts in working with ODE on student information.
Only New Hampshire separates student data similarly to Ohio.
The report is part of an agency-wide performance audit of the Ohio Department of Education.
The Auditor of State’s office is conducting or reporting performance audits of four state agencies under the authority of Ohio Revised Code 117.46, established in 2011 by Senate Bill 4. In addition to ODE, other state agencies under performance review include the state departments of Transportation and Job and Family Services and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
The Statewide Student Identifier system database (SSID) was identified as part of the original scope of the ODE performance audit in 2011.
A full copy of this audit can be found online at ohioauditor.gov.