Educators and parents are applauding a new law that limits the personal information public schools can collect on students.

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, co-authored the bill after a federal judge in January ordered the release of Social Security numbers and other personal data on more than 10 million California students who attended public schools since 2008.

The decision prompted thousands of parents statewide and the Inland area to file objections to the data release, citing concerns about identity theft. U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller reversed her decision in March before it took effect.

Menifee resident Georgina Ramos, who mailed an objection on behalf of her 21-year-old son, expressed relief after being told Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill Thursday.

The legislation bars school districts from collecting Social Security numbers and other sensitive information for students except when required by federal or state law.

“That’s great news,” said Ramos, whose son, Marc Pinedo, graduated from Heritage High School in Romoland in 2013 and is now a UC Santa Barbara senior. “That makes me feel comforted.”

Ramos said her biggest concern “was how they were going to store that information and who had access to it.”

Jurupa Unified School District Superintendent Elliott Duchon called the potential release of student data “the most horrible, nefarious, thing.”

“The data must be fiercely guarded so it cannot be used in any way other than the necessary operations of school systems,” Duchon said.

Melendez sponsored AB 2097 with Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, and Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles.

“Parents shouldn’t have to worry about their child’s identity being stolen because information collected by their school fell into the wrong hands,” Melendez, a mother of five, said in a news release.

The judge’s initial order to release the data stemmed from a 2011 lawsuit by two Northern California parent-run nonprofit groups that alleged the California Department of Education wasn’t meeting federal obligations for disabled students.

The Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association and the California Concerned Parents Association said they needed data of all students to prove the Education Department violated special-education laws. The data, stored in department databases, included grades, test scores and specialized education plans for disabled students, as well as names, Social Security numbers, addresses and health records.

In her March 1 decision, Mueller ordered the department to keep custody of its most sensitive database, the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, while running searches for information the groups were seeking.

Christine English, vice president of the California Concerned Parents Association, couldn’t be reached for a comment Friday.

After the judge’s initial decision, the Riverside Unified School District received many calls from parents who expressed concerns about the disclosure, said Tim Walker, executive director for pupil services and special education.

While he’s not familiar with details of the new law, Walker said he supports any move to bolster the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act that was created in 1974 to protect student records.

“We do everything we can to secure documents and give access only to those who have a need to know and who work with students,” Walker said. “They promised to keep it confidential. There’s no assurance that once it’s provided to them that they would do so.”

ABOUT THE BILL

Name: AB 2097

Authors: Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore; Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego; Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles

Background: A judge in January ordered all California public schools to give students’ Social Security numbers and other data to two groups that sued the state Department of Education in 2011.

Details: The bill prohibits school districts from collecting students’ Social Security numbers and other information except when required by federal and state law.

Status: Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill Thursday.