506.1 Education Records Access

District

The board recognizes the importance of maintaining education records and preserving their confidentiality as provided by law. Education records are kept confidential at collection, storage, disclosure and destruction stages. The board secretary is the custodian of education records. Education records may be maintained in the central administration office or administrative office of the student’s attendance center.

Definitions

For the purposes of this policy, the defined words have the following meaning:

“Education Record” means those records that contain information directly related to a student and which are maintained by an education agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.
“Eligible Student” means a student who has reached eighteen years or attends a postsecondary institution. Parents of an eligible student are provided access to education records only with the written permission of the eligible student unless the eligible student is defined as a dependent by the Internal Revenue Code. In that case, the parents may be provided access without the written permission of the student.

An education record may contain information on more than one student. Parents will have the right to access the information relating to their student or to be informed of the information. Eligible students will also have the right to access the information relating to themselves, or be informed of the information.

Parents, eligible students, and other individuals authorized in accordance with law will have a right to access the student’s education records upon request without unnecessary delay and in no instance more than forty-five calendar days after the request is made. Parents, other than parents of an eligible student, may be denied access to a student’s records if the school district has a court order stating such or when the district has been advised under the appropriate laws that the parents may not access the student records. Parents, an eligible student or an authorized representative of the parents will have the right to access the student’s education records prior to an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting or hearing.

Copies of education records will be provided if failure to do so would effectively prevent the parents or student from exercising the right to access the education records. Fees for copies of the records are waived if it would prevent the parents or student from accessing the records. A fee may not be charged to search or retrieve information from education records.

Upon the request of parents or an eligible student, the school district will provide an explanation and interpretation of the education records and a list of the types and locations of education records collected, maintained or used by the school district.

If the parents or an eligible student believes the information in the education records is inaccurate, misleading or violates the privacy of the student, the parents or an eligible student may request that the school district amend the education records.

Education records may be disclosed in limited circumstances without parental or eligible student’s written permission. This disclosure is made on the condition that the education record will not be disclosed to a third party without the written permission of the parents or the eligible student. This disclosure may be:

To school officials within the school district and AEA personnel whom the superintendent has determined to have a legitimate educational interest, including, but not limited to, board members, employees, school attorney, auditor, health professionals, and individuals serving on official school committees;
To officials of another school district in which the student wishes to enroll, provided the other school district notifies the parents the education records are being sent and the parents have an opportunity to receive a copy of the records and challenge the contents of the records unless the annual notification includes a provision that records will automatically be transferred to new school districts;
To the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education or state and local educational authorities;
In connection with a student’s application for, or receipt of, financial aid;
To organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, and improving instruction, if such studies are conducted in such a manner as will not permit the personal identification of students and their parents by persons other than representatives of such organizations and such information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose for which it was conducted;
To accrediting organizations;
To parents of a dependent student as defined in the Internal Revenue Code;
To comply with a court order or judicially issued subpoena;
In connection with a health or safety emergency;
As directory information; or
In additional instances as provided by law.

The superintendent will keep a list of the individuals and their positions who are authorized to view a special education student’s education records without the permission of the parents or the eligible student. Individuals not listed are not allowed access without parental or an eligible student’s written permission. This list must be current and available for public inspection and updated as changes occur.

The superintendent will also keep a list of individuals, agencies and organizations which have requested or obtained access to a student’s education records, the date access was given and their legitimate educational interest or purpose for which they were authorized to view the records. The superintendent, however, does not need to keep a list of the parents, authorized educational employees, officers and agencies of the school district who have accessed the student’s education records. This list for an education record may be accessed by the parents, the eligible student and the custodian of education records.

Permanent education records, including a student’s name, address, phone number, grades, attendance record, classes attended, grade level completed and year completed may be maintained without time limitation. Permanent education records will be kept in a fire-safe vault or they may be maintained electronically with a secure backup file.

When personally identifiable information, other than permanent education records, is no longer needed to provide educational services to a special education student, the parents or eligible student are notified. This notice is normally given after a student graduates or otherwise leaves the school district. If the parents or

eligible student request that the personally identifiable information be destroyed, the school district will destroy the records, except for permanent records. Prior to the destruction of the records, the school district must inform the parents or eligible student the records may be needed by the parents or eligible student for social security benefits or other purposes. For purposes of policy, “no longer needed to provide educational services” means that a record is no longer relevant to the provision of instruction, support, or related services and it is no longer needed for accountability and audit purposes. At a minimum, a record needed for accountability and audit purposes must be retained for five years after completion of the activity for which funds were used.

The school district will provide training or instruction to employees about parents’ and eligible students’ rights under this policy. Employees will also be informed about the procedures for carrying out this policy.

It is the responsibility of the superintendent to annually notify parents and eligible students that they have the right to:

Inspect and review the student’s education records;
Seek amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights;
Consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that the law authorizes disclosure without consent; and
File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the district to comply with the law.

The notice is given in a parents’ or eligible student’s native language. Should the school district collect personal information from students for the purposes of marketing or selling that information, the school district will annually notify parents of such activity.

The notice will include a statement that the parents have a right to file a complaint alleging the school district failed to comply with this policy. Complaints are forwarded to Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, Washington, DC. 20202-8520.

Legal Reference:

20 U.S.C. § 1232g, 1415.

34 C.F.R. Pt. 99, 300, .610 et seq.

Iowa Code §§ 22; 279.9B, 280.24, .25, 622.10.

281 I.A.C. 12.3(4); 41

Cross Reference: 501 Student Attendance

505 Student Scholastic Achievement

506 Student Records

507 Student Health and Well-Being

603.3 Special Education

708 Care, Maintenance and Disposal of School District Records

901 Public Examination of School District Records

Approved 10/20/2021 Reviewed Revised

506.1E1 Request of Non-parent for Examination or Copies of Education Records

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506.1E2 Authorization for Release of Education Records

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506.1E3 Request for Hearing on Correction of Education Records

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506.1E4 Request for Examination of Education Records

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506.1E5 Notification of Transfer of Education Records

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506.1E6 Letter to Parent Regarding Receipt of a Subponea

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506.1E8 Annual Notice

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 education records. They are:

(1) The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the district 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 principal (or appropriate 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.

(2) The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate or misleading or in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.

Parents or eligible students who wish to ask school district to amend a record should write the school principal, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it should be changed.

If the district decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the 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.

(3) 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 district 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 school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the school who performs an institutional service of function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist, a or a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee or student assistance team, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

Upon request, the district discloses education records without consent to officials of another school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll or is already enrolled if the disclosure is for purposes of the student’s enrollment of transfer.

(4) The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the district to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education,

400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC, 20202-4605.

506.1R1 Use of Education Records Regulation

Parents and eligible students will have a right to access a student’s education records upon request without unnecessary delay and in no instance more than forty-five calendar days after the request is made. The intent of this regulation is to establish procedures for granting requests from eligible students and parents to access a student’s education records.

Education records mean those records that contain information directly related to a student and which are maintained by an education agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. These may include, but are not necessarily limited to: dates of attendance; academic work completed; level of achievement (grades, standardized 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. Access to Records

1. Parents, eligible students, and other individuals authorized in accordance with law will have access to the student’s education records during the regular business hours of the school district. Parents and eligible students will have a right to access the student’s education records upon request without unnecessary delay and in no instance more than forty-five calendar days after the request is made. An eligible student or parent, upon written request to the board secretary, shall receive an explanation and interpretation of the education records. A student, eighteen years or older, has the right to determine who, outside the school system, has access to the records. Parents of students who are 18 years or older but still dependents for income tax purposes may access the student’s records without prior permission of the student.

2. School officials having access to student records are defined as having a legitimate educational interest. 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); a person serving on the school board; a person or company with whom the school district has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, AEA employee, medical consultant, or therapist); or a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as disciplinary or grievance committee or student assistance team, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

B. Release of Information Outside the School – Information from education records may be disclosed to outside parties as outlined in board policy and otherwise provided by law.

C. Procedures for Requesting a Record Amendment

If the eligible student, parent, or legal guardian believe the information in the education records is inaccurate, misleading, or violates the privacy of the student, the parents or an eligible student may request that the school district amend the education student records.
The school district will decide whether to amend the education student records within a reasonable time after receipt of the request.
If the school district determines an amendment is made to the education student record, the school district will make the amendment and inform the parents or the eligible student of the decision in writing.
If the school district determines that amendment of the student’s education record is not appropriate, it will inform the parents or the eligible student of their right to a hearing before the hearing officer provided by the school district. The hearing officer may be an employee of the school district, so long as the employee does not have a direct interest in the outcome of the hearing.
Upon parental request, the school district will hold a hearing regarding the content of a student’s education records which the parent believes to be inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the privacy rights of students.
The hearing will be held within a reasonable time after receipt of the parent or eligible student’s request. The parent or eligible student will receive reasonable advance notice of date, time and place of the hearing.
The parents or eligible student will be given a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to the issues. The parent or eligible student may be represented by an individual at their choice at their own expense.
The hearing officer will render a written decision within a reasonable period after the hearing. The decision will be based upon evidence presented at the hearing and must include a summary of the evidence and the reasons for the decision.
The parents may appeal the hearing officer’s decision to the superintendent within five days if the superintendent does not have a direct interest in the outcome of the hearing.
The parents may appeal the superintendent’s decision or the hearing officer’s decision if the superintendent was unable to hear the appeal, to the board within five days. It is within the discretion of the board to hear the appeal.
If the parents’ and the eligible student’s request to amend the education student record is further denied following the hearing, the parents or the eligible student are informed that they have a right to place an explanatory letter in the education student record commenting on the school district’s decision or setting forth the reasoning for disagreeing with the school district. Additions to the student’s education records will become a part of the education student record and be maintained like other education student records. If the school district discloses the education student records, the explanation by the parents will also be disclosed or the eligible student of the decision in writing.

506.1 Education Records Access

District