Confidentiality Laws

1. Confidentiality Laws Protection of privacy for all Students!

2. The Law is covered under: • IDEA Confidentiality Regulations Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (§§300.560-300.577) • FERPA Regulations Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (US Code, Title 20, Section 1232g) and Implementing regulations in 34 CFR part 99.

3. Confidentiality Of Information under IDEA Definitions • Destruction means physical destruction or removal of personal identifiers • Participating Agency means any Agency or institution that collects, maintains or uses personal information or from which it is obtained under part B of the Act • Education Records as defined under 34 Code of Federal Regulations part 99 (FERPA 1974)

4. Definitions under FERPA Education Record includes: • Date and place of Birth, parents and/or guardian addresses and emergency contacts • Grades, test scores, courses taken, academic specializations and activities, and official letters regarding a student’s status in school. • Special Education Records • Disciplinary Records • Medical and Health Records • Attendance, Schools attended, Course, awards and degrees • Personal information such as SS#, picture and any other information that would make it easy to identify or locate student

5. Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) • Also known as the Buckley Amendment • Defines and protects the Privacy of Student Educational Records on paper and computer • Gives Parent and Postsecondary Students the right to review and confirm the accuracy of educational records • FERPA Regulations are found in the Code of Federal Register (34 CFR Part 99)

6. FERPA Protects Privacy • In addition to the Federal Laws that restrict disclosure of information from student records, most states also have privacy protection laws that reinforce FERPA. State laws can supplement FERPA, but compliance with FERPA is necessary if schools are to continue to be eligible to receive Federal education Funds.

7. What information must the state educational agency (and school district) provide to parents about education records?

8. Notice to Parents • The SEA shall give notice that is adequate to fully inform parents about the requirements of §300.127 • In the necessary Native Languages • Who, how, why personally identifiable information is gathered as outlined in the Law • Policies and Procedures regarding storage, disclosure to third parties, retention and destruction of personal information. • Description of parent and student rights under IDEA and FERPA • Before any major identification, location, or evaluation activity the notice must be announced in newspapers or other media.

9. What Access do Parents have to their child’s education records?

10. Parents Right to Access Records • Parents have the right to inspect and review any educational record relating to their children and the agency shall comply without delay no later than 45 days of request. • Parental right to review and inspect records includes: • reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations • to have a copy of the records for review and inspection • to have a representative of the parent review and inspect the records at parents request • The school must presume the parent has authority unless they have been advised otherwise for such matters as guardianship, separation, or divorce.

11. Record of Access • Each participating agency shall keep a record of parties obtaining access to education records collected, maintained, or used under Part B of the Act (except access by parents and authorized employees of the participating agency), including the name, date access was given, and purpose for which the party is authorized to use the records.

12. Records on more than one child • If any education record includes information on more than one child, the parents of those children have the right to inspect only the information relating to their child or to be informed of that specific information.

13. List of types and locations of information • Each participating agency shall provide parents, on request, a list of the types and locations of education records collected, maintained, or used by the agency.

14. Fees • Each participating agency may charge a fee for copies of records that are made for parents under this part if the fee does not effectively prevent the parents from exercising their right to inspect and review those records. • A participating agency may not charge a fee to search for or to retrieve information under this part.

15. Can Parents Amend their child’s Education Records?

16. Amendment of records at parent’s request • A parent who believes that information in the education record collected, maintained, or used under this part is inaccurate or misleading or violates the privacy or other rights of the child may request the participating agency that maintains the information to amend the information. • The agency shall decide whether to amend the information in accordance with the request with a reasonable period of time of receipt of the request. • If the agency decides to refuse to amend the information, it shall inform the parents of refusal and advise the parent of the right to a hearing.

17. What happens if the school refuses to amend an education record?

18. Opportunity for a hearing • The agency shall, on request, provide an opportunity for a hearing to challenge information in education records to ensure that it is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other right of the child.

19. Result of hearing • If, as a result of a hearing, the agency decides that the information is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of the child, it shall amend the information accordingly and so inform the parent in writing. • If, as a result of the hearing, the agency decides that information is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of the child a statement commenting on the information or setting forth any reason for disagreeing with the decision of the agency.

20. Result of hearing(continued) • Any explanation placed in the records of the child under this section must- • Be maintained by the agency as part of the records of the child as long as the record or contested portion is maintained by the agency; and • If the records of the child or the contested portion is disclosed by the agency to any party, the explanation must also be disclosed to the party.

21. Can education records be disclosed without Parental consent?

22. Consent • Except as to disclosures addressed in 300.529 (b) for which parental consent is not required by FERPA, parental consent must be obtained before personally identifiable information is • disclosed to anyone other than officials of participating agencies collecting or using the information for legitimate educational purposes • Used for any purpose other than meeting the requirement of this part.

23. Consent (continued) • An education agency or institution subject to 34CFR part 99 may not release information from education records to participating agencies without parental consent unless authorized to do so under (FERPA) part 99. • The SEA shall provide polices and procedures that are used in the event that a parent refuses to provide consent under this section.

24. What safeguards must be taken to protect education records?

25. Safeguards • Each participating agency shall protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure, and destruction stages • One official at each participating agency shall assume responsibility for ensuring the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information

26. Safeguards (continued) • All persons collecting or using personally identifiable information must receive training or instruction regarding the State’s policies and procedures under 300.127 and 34 CFR part 99. • Each participating agency shall maintain, for public inspection, a current listing of the names and positions of those employees within the agency who may have access to personally identifiable information.

27. When are Educational Records Destroyed?

28. Destruction of Information • The public agency shall inform parents when personally identifiable information collected, maintained, or used under this part is no longer needed to provide educational services to the child. • The information must be destroyed at the request of the parents. However, a permanent record of a student’s name, address, and phone number, his or her grades, attendance record, classes attended, grade level completed, and year completed may be maintained without time limitation.

29. What right do children with disabilities have related to their education records?

30. Children’s Rights • The SEA shall provide policies and procedures regarding the extent to which children are afforded the rights of privacy similar to those afforded to parents, taking into consideration the age of the child and type of severity of disability. • Under the regulations for FERPA and 34 CFR part 99 (a), the rights of parents regarding educational records are transferred to the student at age 18.

31. Children’s Rights • If the rights accorded to parents under Part B of the Act are transferred to a student who reaches the age of majority, consistent with 300.517, the rights regarding educational records in 300.562-300.573 must also be transferred to the student. However, the public agency provide notice required under section 615 of the Act to the student and the parent.

32. Enforcement • The SEA shall provide the policies and procedures, including sanctions, that the State uses to ensure that its policies and procedures are followed and that the requirements of the Act and the regulations in this part are met.

33. Is Disciplinary Information included in a Education Records?

34. Disciplinary Information • The state may require that a public agency include in the records of a child with a disability a statement of any current or previous disciplinary action that has been taken against the child and transmit the statement to the same extent that the disciplinary information is included in, and transmitted with, the student record of non-disabled children.

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