515 - Form - Public Notice

Independent School District No. 624 gives notice to parents of students currently in attendance in the District, and eligible students currently in attendance in the District, of their rights regarding pupil records.

1. Parents and eligible students are hereby informed that they have the following rights:

a. A parent or eligible student has a right to inspect and review the student’s education records. A parent or eligible student should submit to the school district a written request to inspect education records which identify as precisely as possible the record or records he or she wishes to inspect. The parent or eligible student will be notified of the time and place where the records may be inspected;

b. That the parent or eligible student has a right to seek amendment of the student’s education records to ensure that those records are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights. A parent or eligible student may ask the school district to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. The request shall be in writing, shall identify the item(s) the parent or eligible student believe(s) to be inaccurate, misleading or in violation of the privacy or other rights of the student, shall state the reason for this belief, and shall specify the correction(s) the parent or eligible student wishes the school district to make. The request shall be signed by the parent or eligible student. If the school district decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the school district will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them 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;

c. That the parent or eligible student has a right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that federal and state law and the regulations promulgated thereunder authorize disclosures without consent;

d. That the school district may disclose education records to other school officials within the school district whom the school district has determined to have legitimate educational interests. For purposes of such disclosure, a “school official” is a person employed by the school district as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel) or other employee; a person serving on the school board; a person or company with whom the school district has consulted to perform a specific task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, therapist); or a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee; or any individual assisting a school official in the performance of his or her tasks. A school official has a “legitimate educational interest” if the individual needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility and includes, but is not limited to, an interest directly related to classroom instruction, teaching, student achievement and progress, discipline of a student and student health and welfare;

e. That the school district has a right to forward education records on request to a school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll;

f. That the parent or eligible student has a right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education regarding an alleged failure by the school district to comply with the requirements of 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, and the rules promulgated thereunder, the name and address of the office that administers the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20202-4605

g. That the parent or eligible student has a right to obtain a copy of the school district’s policy regarding the protection and privacy of pupil records; and

h. That copies of the school district’s policy regarding the protection and privacy of school records are located on the school district’s website at isd624.org.

2. Independent School District No. 624 has adopted a school board policy in order to comply with state and federal laws regarding education records. The policy does the following:

a. It classifies records as public, private or confidential.

b. It establishes procedures and regulations to permit parents or students to inspect and review a student's education records. These procedures include the method of determining fees for copies, a listing of the locations of these education records, and the identity of the individuals in charge of the records.

c. It establishes procedures and regulations to allow parents or students to request the amendment of a student's education records to ensure that the records are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy or other rights.

d. It establishes procedures and regulations for access to and disclosure of education records.

e. It establishes procedures and regulations for safeguarding the privacy of education records and for obtaining prior written consent of the parent or student when required prior to disclosure.

3. Copies of the school board policy and accompanying procedures and regulations are available to parents and students upon written request to the Superintendent.

4. Pursuant to applicable law, Independent School District No. 624 gives notice to parents of students currently in attendance in the school district, and eligible students currently in attendance in the school district, of their rights regarding “directory information.”

“Directory information” means information contained in an education record of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. It includes, but is not limited to: the student’s name, photograph, major field of study, dates of attendance, grade level, enrollment status (i.e., full- time or part-time), participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, degrees, honors and awards received, and the most recent educational agency or institution attended. Directory information does not include a student’s social security number or a student’s identification number (“ID”) if the ID may be used to access education records without use of one or more factors that authenticate the student’s identity such as a personal identification number, password, or other factor known or possessed only by the authorized user. It also does not include personally identifiable data which references religion, race, color, social position, or nationality. Data collected from nonpublic school students, other than those who receive shared time educational services, shall not be designated as directory information unless written consent is given by the student’s parent or guardian.

a. The directory information listed above shall be public information which the school district may disclose from the education records of a student.

b. Should the parent of a student or the student so desire, any or all of the listed information will not be disclosed without the parent's or eligible student's prior written consent except to school officials as provided under federal law.

c. In order to make any or all of the directory information listed above “private” (i.e. subject to consent prior to disclosure), the parent or eligible student must make a written request to the building principal within thirty (30) days after the date of the last publication of this notice. This written request must include the following information:

(1) Name of student;

(2) Home address;

(3) School presently attended by student;

(4) Parent or guardian’s legal relationship to student, if applicable;

(5) Specific category or categories of directory information which is not to be made public without the parent's or eligible student's prior written consent.