This is to advise you of your rights with respect to your child's school records, pursuant to the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).

Parents of a student under 18, or a student 18 or older ("eligible student"), have a right to inspect and review any and all official records, files, and data directly related to their children/themselves, including all material that is incorporated into each student's cumulative record folder, and intended for school use or to be available to parties outside the school or school system, and specifically including, but not necessarily limited to, identifying data, academic work completed, level of achievement (grades, standardized achievement test scores), attendance data, scores on standardized intelligence, aptitude, and psychological tests, interest inventory results, health data, family background information, teacher or counselor ratings and observations, and verified reports of serious or recurrent behavior patterns.

A parent of a student under 18 years of age or an eligible student shall make a request for access to a child's (their own) school records, in writing, to the Elementary Principal of the building to which such student is assigned or to the Guidance Counselor in the Secondary School.  Upon receipt of such request, arrangements shall be made to provide access to such records within a reasonable period of time, but in no case, no more than forty-five (45) days after the request has been received.

Such parents and students are also entitled to an opportunity for a hearing to challenge the content of such records, to insure that they 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 questions concerning the procedure to be followed in requesting such a hearing should be directed to the Deputy Superintendent.

Student records, and any material contained therein which is personally identifiable, are confidential and may not be released or made available to persons other than parents or eligible students without the written consent of such parents or eligible students.  There are a number of exceptions to this rule, such as other school employees and officials, and certain State and Federal officials, who have a legitimate educational need for access to such records in the course of their employment.

You can review the FERPA regulations, frequently asked questions, significant opinions of the Office, and other information regarding FERPA at the following website:  https://studentprivacy.ed.gov 

If, after reading this guidance document, you have questions regarding FERPA that are not addressed, you may write to the office that administers FERPA for additional guidance at the following address: 

Student Privacy Policy Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605