Privacy Rights

Emergency Safety Intervention Parent Information

Statement of Non-Discrimination & Suicide Prevention - Jason Flatt Act

NOTICE TO PARENTS AND STUDENTS OF RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL

RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT  (FERPA) OF 1974

The USD 306 policy shall conform to the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974".

Any parent, guardian or student of legal age may inspect the personnel records of the student at any reasonable time.  The school district reserves the right to interpret these records to students, parents or guardians at the time of inspection.

Building principals shall be responsible for development of cumulative records of all students enrolled in their buildings.  Such records are to be treated as confidential and primarily for local school use. Anecdotal statements shall be written so as to reflect only the necessary facts of a given incident or situation.  Professional opinion rendered by counselors or other professional persons may be included in such records. Cumulative records may be destroyed three years after the student leaves the school system.

Permanent records shall be maintained by building principals for each student that enrolls in the schools of the district.  These records shall show the student's full name, birth date, parent's name, date entered and left, reason for leaving, attendance record, grade record, standardized test scores, honors, activities, and other factual information which may be necessary to identify the student.

Upon request, the District discloses education records, without consent, to officials of another school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

Students, parents or guardians shall have an opportunity for a hearing to challenge the content of the student's school record, to insure that the records are not inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of students, and to provide an opportunity for the correction or deletion of any such inaccurate, misleading or otherwise inappropriate data contained therein.  Any hearing will first be held before the building principal and/or the Superintendent of Schools before a hearing by the Board of Education whose decision shall be final and binding on all parties.

A "Release of Information" request must be received by the school officials duly signed by a parent or legal guardian of the student or by a student of legal age before student information will be released to any outside agency or individual.

When your child becomes eighteen years of age, all rights formerly accorded to you as a parent of said student become the sole rights of the student, and you will no longer have the right of access to said student's records.

FERPA:  Notice of Directory Information

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act  (FERPA), a Federal law, requires that USD 306, with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records. However, USD 306 may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless you have advised the District to the contrary in accordance with District procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the USD 306 to include this type of information from your child’s education records in certain school publications. Examples include:

• A playbill, showing your student’s role in a drama production;

• The annual yearbook;

• Honor roll or other recognition lists;

• Graduation programs; and

• Sports activity sheets, such as for football, showing weight and/or height of team members.

Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent’s prior written consent. Outside organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks. In addition, two federal laws require local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to provide military recruiters, upon request, with three directory information categories--names, addresses and telephone listings--unless parents have advised the LEA that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent.

If you do not want USD 306 to disclose directory information from your child’s education records without your prior written consent, you must notify the District in writing by September 1 or if received after September 1, within ten days of receiving this information.

USD 306 has designated the following information as directory information:

-Student’s name

-Participation in officially recognized activities and sports

-Name(s) of Parent/guardian

-Grade level placement and dates of attendance

-Weight and height

-The most recent educational agency or institution attended

-Honors or awards received

-Photograph

-Date and place of birth

*These laws are: Section 9528 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7908), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001  (P.L. 107-110), the education bill, and 10 U.S.C. 503, as amended by section 544, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002  (P.L. 107-107), the legislation that provides funding for the Nation’s armed forces.