NOTIFICATION OF RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND
PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
affords parents and students over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain
rights with respect to the student’s educational records. These rights are:
- The
right to inspect and review the student’s educational record within 45
days of the day the school receives a request for access.
Parents or
eligible students should submit to the school principal (or appropriate school
official) a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to
inspect. The school official will make
arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time
and place where the records may be inspected.
- The rights
to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the
parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate or misleading.
Parents or
eligible students may ask the school to amend a record that they believe is
inaccurate or misleading. They should
write the school principal (or appropriate official); clearly identifying the
part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or
misleading. If the school decides not to
amend the records as requested by the parent or
eligible student, the school will notify the parent or eligible student of the
decision and advise him/her of their right to a hearing regarding the request
for amendment. Additional information
regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible
student when notified of the right to a hearing.
- The
right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information
contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that
FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
One exception,
which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with
legitimate educational interests. A
school official is a person employed by the school as an administrator,
supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff
and law enforcement unit personnel); a person serving on the School Board; a
person or company with whom the school has contracted to perform a special task
(such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist); or a parent
or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or
grievance committee, or assisting another school official on performing his or
her tasks. A school official has a
legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education
record to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
(Optional) Upon request, the school
discloses education records without consent to officials of another school
district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. (NOTE: FERPA requires a school district to
make a reasonable attempt to notify the parent or eligible student of the
records request unless it states in its annual notification that it intends to
forward records on request.)
- The
right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning
alleged failure by a school to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name of the office that administers
FERPA is:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605
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