August 30, 2002

September 5, 2002

J. David Armstrong, Jr.

Ph: (850) 488-1721

SUNCOM: 278-1721

Fax: (850) 488-9763

FLORIDA BOARD OF

T. Willard Fair

William “Bill” Proctor

Carolyn Roberts

COMMISSIONER OF

Memorandum Number 02-43

September 5, 2002

M E M O R A N D U M

TO:

Community College Presidents

J. David Armstrong Jr.

Collection of Social Security Numbers

During the 2002 Legislative Session, Committee Substitute for House Bill 1673

was passed by the Legislature and became law as Chapter 2002-256, Laws of

Florida. The law restricts the agency collection of Social Security Numbers

(SSNs) and creates a public exemption for all such numbers when held by an

agency. It stipulates that “An agency shall not collect an individual’s social

security number unless authorized by law to do so or unless the collection of the

social security numbers is otherwise imperative for the performance of that

agency’s duties and responsibilities as prescribed by law.”

The law specifically requires that agencies clearly document the need to collect

SSNs and provide adequate justification for such collection in writing. It further

stipulates that agencies collecting SSNs must provide individuals, upon their

request, with a statement of the purposes for which the SSN is collected and used.

Agencies are also required to ensure that SSNs collected for one purpose are not

used for another purpose.

Federal legislation relating to the Hope Tax Credit (Federal Register, June 16

2000) requires that all postsecondary institutions report student SSNs to the

Internal Revenue Service. This IRS requirement makes it necessary for

community colleges to collect the SSN of every student. A student may refuse to

disclose his or her SSN to the college, but the IRS is then authorized to fine the

student in the amount of $50.

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

Department of Education

1314 Turlington Building

325 W. Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

www.dcc.firn.edu

Memorandum Number 02-43

September 5, 2002

In addition to the federal reporting requirements, the public school system in Florida uses SSNs

as a student identifier (Section 229.559, Florida Statutes – new school code section 1008.386).

In a seamless K-20 system, it is beneficial for postsecondary institutions to have access to the

same information for purposes of tracking and assisting students in the smooth transition from

one education level to the next. All SSNs are protected by federal regulations Family

Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and are never released to unauthorized parties. In

addition, many colleges and universities provide students with a unique identification number so

that the SSN will not be used as the sole identifier. Therefore, it is the opinion of the Division of

Community Colleges, in consultation with legal counsel, that colleges have a legitimate need to

collect SSN data and the above information provides sufficient justification for doing so.

c: Community College Admissions Officers

Community College Registrars