The Schools shall comply with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (“FERPA”). Under its provisions, “parents/guardians and noncustodial parent(s), whose rights are not limited by court order or formal agreement, of a student under eighteen (18), or a student who is eighteen (18) years of age or older or who is attending an institution of post-secondary education, have a right to inspect and review any and all education records maintained by the School.”
Retention and Destruction of Records
The Board hereby adopts the Records Retention and Disposition Schedule ED-1 issued pursuant to Article 57-A of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, which contains the legal minimum retention periods for District records. In accordance with Article 57-A, the District will dispose of only those records described in the schedule after they have met the minimum retention periods set forth in the schedule. The District will dispose of only those records that do not have sufficient administrative, fiscal, legal or historical value to merit retention beyond the established legal minimum periods.
A. Education Records
The term “education records” is defined as all records, files, documents, and other materials containing information directly related to a student and maintained by the education agency or institution, or by a person acting for such agency or institution. 34 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) § 99.3. This includes all records regardless of medium, including, but not limited to, handwriting, videotape or audiotape, electronic or computer files, film, print, microfilm, and microfiche. In addition, for students who attend a public school district, all records pertaining to services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) are considered “education records” under FERPA. As such, they are subject to the confidentiality provisions of both Acts.
Personal notes made by teachers or other staff on the other hand are not considered education records if they are:
Kept in the sole possession of the maker; or
Not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute; and
Used only as a memory aid.
Additionally, FERPA does not prohibit a School official from disclosing information about a student if the information is obtained through the School official’s personal knowledge or observation and not from the student’s education records.
Records created and maintained by a law enforcement unit for law enforcement purposes are also excluded.
B. Access to Student Records
The Board directs Superintendent to publish such regulations and procedures as necessary to comply with Federal law relating to the availability of student records and to ensure the availability of educational records to parents, guardians, or persons in parental relation of students and noncustodial parent(s) whose rights are not limited by court order or formal agreement, or students who are eighteen (18) years of age or older, or who are attending an institution of post-secondary education, student records, and files on students, and to ensure the confidentiality of such records with respect to third parties.
Under FERPA, unless otherwise exempted in accordance with law and regulation, the School may release personally identifiable information contained in student records only if it has received a “signed and dated written consent” from a parent, guardian, or person in parental relation or eligible student. Signed and dated written consent may include a record and signature in electronic form, provided that such signature:
Identifies and authenticates a particular person as the source of the electronic consent; and
Indicates such person’s approval of the information contained in the electronic consent.
C. Health and Safety Emergency Exception
The School must balance the need to protect students’ personally identifiable information with the need to address issues of School safety and emergency preparedness. Under FERPA, if an educational agency or institution determines that there is an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of a student or other individuals, it may disclose information from education records, without consent, to any person whose knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health and safety of the student or other individuals during the period of the health or safety emergency. School districts may release information from records to appropriate parties, including, but not limited to, parents, guardians, or persons in parental relation, law enforcement officials, and medical personnel. A school district’s determination that there is an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of a student or other individuals shall be based upon a totality of the circumstances, including the information available, at the time the determination is made. The school district must record the articulable and significant threat that formed the basis for the disclosure and maintain this record for as long as the student’s education records are maintained.
D. Challenge to Student Records
Parents, guardians, or persons in parental relation of a student under the age of eighteen (18), or a student who is eighteen (18) years of age or older or who is attending an institution of post-secondary education, shall have an opportunity for a hearing to challenge the content of the School records to ensure that the records are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy of students, and to provide an opportunity for the correction or deletion of any such inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate data contained therein.
E. Disclosures to Parents, Guardians, or Persons in Parental Relation of Eligible Students
Even after a student has become an “eligible student” under FERPA (which is defined as a student who is eighteen (18) years of age or older or who is attending an institution of post-secondary education), an educational agency or institution may disclose education records to an eligible student’s parents, guardians, or persons in parental relation without the student’s consent:
If the student is claimed as a dependent for Federal income tax purposes by either parent, guardian, or person in parental relation;
In connection with a health or safety emergency;
If the student is under twenty-one (21) years of age and has violated an institutional rule or policy governing the use of alcohol or a controlled substance; or
If the disclosure falls within any other exception to the consent requirements under FERPA or its regulations, such as the disclosure of directory information or in compliance with a court order or lawfully issued subpoena.
F. Release of Information to the Noncustodial Parent, Guardian, or Person in Parental Relation
The School may presume that the noncustodial parent, guardian, or person in parental relation has the authority to request information concerning his or her child and release such information upon request. If the custodial parent, guardian, or person in parental relation wishes to limit the noncustodial parent, guardian, or person in parental relation’s access to the records, it would be his or her responsibility to obtain and present to the School a legally binding instrument that prevents the release of said information.
G. Release of Information to Another Educational Institution
The School may disclose any and all educational records, including disciplinary records and records that were created as a result of a student receiving special education services under Part B of IDEA, to another school or post-secondary institution at which the student seeks or intends to enroll, or after the student has enrolled or transferred, so long as the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer. Parental consent is not required for transferring education records if the School’s annual FERPA notification indicates that such disclosures may be made. In the absence of information about disclosures in the annual FERPA notification, School officials must make a reasonable attempt to notify the parents, guardians, or persons in parental relation about the disclosure, unless the parents, guardians, or persons in parental relation initiated the disclosure. Additionally, upon request, schools must provide a copy of the information disclosed and an opportunity for a hearing.
20 U.S.C. § 1232g
34 C.F.R. Part 99
Arts and Cultural Affairs Law §57.11
