Wyoming teacher credentials and licenses are now available online for school districts and educators, though the same information may one day be available to parents and community members.

The Wyoming Professional Standards Teaching Board recently put individual professional data online so districts and teachers can easily access information such as credentials and professional development.

Executive director Connie Pollard said the board is considering making credential and license information public, a growing national trend in the age of accountability. But issues like personal privacy and information security have caused a bump in the road.

"We want to be more open, we want to give more access," Pollard said. "But how do you maintain security?"

Currently, teacher information is tied to a social security number, Pollard said. The number can't be given out to just anyone. Teachers are also concerned about what information would be made public.

"They have a right to privacy," Pollard said.

In California, the public can access information by logging on to a Web site and typing in the teacher's last name. Clicking on a name provides a list of the teacher's credentials, and clicking on a credential offers a brief explanation.

Louisiana, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas are a few other states that have made certain teacher information public.

The Mississippi Department of Education is building a new online system for educators to access information, though an added feature is the ability to make credentials and licenses available to the public.

"It will just be what's public information," said Cindy Coon, director of the Office of Educator Licensure. "It will not have personal information."

Coon said Mississippi is taking teacher privacy very seriously, though educators have said little about the their credentials eventually being public information.

"We haven't had any negative feedback on it," she said. "I think people know that it's coming. If they worked hard to earn that license, I don't think they'd mind having it out there."

Doreen McGlade, president of the Natrona County Education Association, said another concern about making credential information public is the definition of "highly qualified."

Wyoming's board needs to have clear standards since interpretations of "highly qualified" have changed over the years, she said. McGlade also pointed out that schools receiving Title I funds are required by No Child Left Behind to notify parents if a class is taught by a teacher who is not highly qualified.

McGlade stressed the importance of making sure parents are given the best data available if they're allowed to access teacher credentials.

"I think it's really important that we have transparency," she said. "That's a big word right now in our district and across the state. We support that as long as the public gets really high-quality, accurate data."

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com. Read her blog at my.trib.com/jasasantos.