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 education records. These rights are:
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The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the University receives a request for access.
A student should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The University
official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the
time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are
not maintained by the University official to whom the request was
submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct
official to whom the request should be addressed.
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The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that
the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in
violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA.
A student who wishes to ask the University to amend a record should write the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed.
If the University decides not to amend the record as
requested, the University will notify the student in writing of the
decision and the student's right to a hearing regarding the request for
amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will
be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
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The
right to provide written consent before the University discloses
personally identifiable information from the student's education
records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without
consent.
The University discloses education records without a
student's prior written consent under the FERPA exception for
disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A
school official is a person employed by the University in an
administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff
position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a
person or company with whom the University has contracted as its agent
to provide a service instead of using University employees or officials
(such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on
the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee,
such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, 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
responsibilities for the University.
[Optional] Upon request, the
University also discloses education records without consent to officials
of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. [NOTE
TO UNIVERSITY: FERPA requires an institution to make a reasonable
attempt to notify each student of these disclosures unless the
institution 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 failures by
the University 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 Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-5901
FERPA
permits the School to disclose appropriately designated "directory
information" without written consent, unless you have advised the
District to the contrary in accordance with District procedures. The
primary purpose of directory information is to allow the [School
District] to include this type of information from your child's
education records in certain school publications. Examples include:
- A playbill, showing your student's role in a drama production;
- The annual yearbook;
- Honor roll or other recognition lists;
- Graduation programs; and
- Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing weight and height of team members.
Directory
information, which is information that is generally not considered
harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to
outside organizations without a parent's prior written consent. Outside
organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that
manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks. In addition, two federal
laws require local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving assistance
under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to
provide military recruiters, upon request, with three directory
information categories - names, addresses and telephone listings -
unless parents have advised the LEA that they do not want their
student's information disclosed without their prior written consent.(1)
If
you do not want the District to disclose directory information from
your child's education records without your prior written consent, you
MUST notify the building principal IN WRITING BY OCTOBER 1, 2007.
The District has designated the following information as directory information:
name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field
of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports,
weight and height (if members of athletic teams), dates of attendance,
degrees and awards received, and the name of the education agency or
institution previously attended by the student.
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Parent Information
Parents may request information regarding the professional qualification of their student’s classroom teachers as well as paraprofessionals working with the student. Such requests must be made IN WRITING to the SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS at the District Office located at 385 Depot Lane, Cutchogue, New York 11935.
Footnotes:
1.These
laws are: Section 9528 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7908), as amended by the
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), the education bill, and
10 U.S.C. 503, as amended by section 544, the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (P.L. 107-107), the legislation
that provides funding for the Nation's armed forces.