A. Purpose of Student Records. Student records are collected and maintained to facilitate the instruction and guidance of the student, for legitimate research, and to provide necessary information to students, parents and future educational institutions.
B. Definition. "Student record" as used in this policy shall include records in any medium that directly relate to a student, contain personally identifiable information, and are maintained by the District or a party acting for the District. However, certain types of confidential records shall not be deemed "student records" for purposes of this policy, including (a) personal records made or maintained by instructional, supervisory or administrative personnel for their own use unless the record is made available to persons other than substitutes or to the student; and (b) records made or maintained by a physician, psychologist, counselor, or other recognized professional made, maintained, or used only in connection with the provision of treatment and not disclosed to any one other than those providing treatment. (Treatment does not include remedial educational activities; records relating to remedial educational activities shall be subject to this policy.)
C. Applicability. This policy shall apply to student records of students who are currently enrolled in the District or who have previously been enrolled in the District.
D. Records to Be Maintained.
1. Permanent Student Records.
Official permanent records constitute personal data necessary for the operation of the school system and important for the needs of students and prior students. Permanent records maintained by the District may include any of the following information:
a. Student's name and social security number
b. Address, email address, and telephone number of student
c. Gender, race, and national origin of student
d. Marital and parental status of student
e. Birth date and place of student
f. Name of student's parents or guardians
g. Addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers of parents or guardians
h. Previous schools attended
i. Dates enrolled in District
j. Name and location of District schools attended
k. Date of graduation
l. Subjects taken and grades received
m. Summary of units of classes
n. Number of students in class and rank in class
o. Attendance record
p. Standardized achievement test scores
q. Co-curricular activities
r. Special awards and honors
s. Photographs of student and dates taken
t. Immunization records
u. Educational and vocational plans
v. Follow-up information after high school
w. Logs of records requested or disclosed
2. Cumulative Student Records.
Official cumulative records constitute personal data to be used in assisting the student. Cumulative records maintained by the District may include any of the following information:
- Any information authorized to be contained in Permanent Student Records
- Health information (except that information on communicable diseases shall be maintained separately)
c. Standardized intelligence and aptitude test scores
d. Family background data
e. Curricular reports
f. Discipline data
g. Observational reports of school personnel or reports received from child welfare or juvenile justice agencies
h. Educational records, including accommodation and intervention plans
When a student graduates, cumulative records shall be maintained for three years and shall then be destroyed or shall be transferred to the permanent records if of continued importance.
3. Special Education Records.
Records relating to the identification, evaluation and placement of students requiring special education services maintained by the District may contain:
a. Any information authorized to be contained in Permanent or Cumulative Student Records
b. Certification of the existence of a disability
c. Approvals for evaluation and participation in special education
d. Assessment of needs and projections for future needs
e. Evaluations by staff and consultants
f. Individualized education plans
g. Data necessary to improve decision making and program planning
The Superintendent shall keep a list of persons and their positions who are authorized to view special education records. This list must be current and available for public inspection and updated as changes occur. At least ten (10) days prior to destroying special education records, the parents or guardians (or the student if the student is 18 years of age or older or attending an institution of postsecondary education) shall be notified of the planned destruction and that the records may be needed for social security benefits or other purposes. In the absence of a request to destroy the records, the District shall maintain the records for at least five (5) years after special education services have been discontinued. If an authorized parent or guardian or authorized student requests destruction of records and the records are no longer needed to provide educational services or for accountability and audit purposes, the records will be destroyed. The parent or guardian or student may request a hearing if he/she disagrees as to whether the records should be maintained or destroyed.
E. Place of Maintenance.
1. Permanent Records.
Permanent records shall be maintained either in a fire-resistant safe or vault, or electronically with a secure back-up file.
2. Cumulative Records.
Cumulative records shall be maintained in the office of the building principal where the child is attending school.
3. Special Education Records.
Special education records shall be maintained in a secure location in the office of the building principal or other designated location where the child is attending school.
F. Right to View Records.
1. Persons Authorized.
The following persons shall have the right to view permanent, cumulative, and special education student records maintained by the District without the necessity of obtaining consent pursuant to Section (H)(2):
a. Authorized parents or guardians: the parents or guardians of a student or prior student when the student is under 18 years of age and is not attending an institution of postsecondary education after high school graduation. Parents or guardians of a student who is a dependent as defined by §152 of the Internal Revenue Code shall have a right to view records, but shall not be deemed "authorized parents or guardians" for other purposes of this policy. A parent may be denied access to a student’s records if the District has a court order stating that the parents may not access the records.
b. Eligible student: a student or prior student who is at least 18 years of age or who is attending an institution of postsecondary education after graduation from high school.
c. School personnel who have a legitimate educational interest for viewing the particular record. For purposes of this policy, this shall include District and Area Education Agency administrators, teachers, counselors, practitioners, nurses, police liaison officers, support staff members, or a person or company with whom the District has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, consultant). School personnel have a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. Prior to disclosure of any information in cumulative or special education records, the building principal shall authorize the person to view the record or to receive any information contained therein. Persons seeking to view special education records must be on the current list of individuals authorized to view such records.
d. The Board of Directors or its representative only in the performance of its official duties.
e. A person, court, agency or institution upon presentation of a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena, including federal grand jury subpoena, provided that the Superintendent or building principal shall attempt to notify an authorized parent, guardian or student of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance, unless the court or issuing agency orders that the existence or content of the subpoena not be disclosed or unless the court proceedings giving rise to the subpoena or disclosure order involve abuse and neglect of a child.
f. Officials of another school or school system in which the student seeks to enroll.
g. The U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or to authorized representatives of federal or state educational authorities and authorized representatives of the U.S. Attorney General if specifically authorized to view the records by federal or state law.
h. Representatives of organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of educational agencies for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs and improving instruction, provided the studies are conducted so they will not permit the personal identification of students and their parents by other individuals and the information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes of the study.
i. Accrediting organizations in order to carry out their accrediting functions.
j. Appropriate persons if the knowledge of such information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other persons in the event of an actual, impending, or imminent emergency.
k. Parties in connection with financial aid for which the student has applied or received if the information is necessary to receive the financial aid.
l. Juvenile justice agencies with which the District has an interagency agreement if the information is needed to effectively serve the student prior to adjudication.
m. To a court if the education records of the student are relevant for the District to proceed with legal action as plaintiff or defendant.
n. To personnel of a state or federal agency (i.e. DHS) responsible for the care and protection of a child and who may have the right to access the child’s case permanency plan (i.e. foster care).
2. Procedures for Requesting to View Records.
Persons may request to view student records by filing a written request with the Board Secretary, Superintendent or building principal or by personally presenting oneself to the Board Secretary, Superintendent or building principal. Telephone requests will not be honored. The person must properly identify himself/herself, stating the reason for the request, the student record or information desired to be viewed, and providing sufficient verification that the person has the right to view the record or information. Copies of such records may be made for persons entitled to view the record upon compliance with these procedures. The Board Secretary, Superintendent or principal or his/her designee should remain present when a parent, guardian, or eligible student views a record and shall provide an explanation or interpretation of a record if requested to do so. The Board Secretary, Superintendent or building principal must allow an authorized parent, guardian, or eligible student to view or receive a copy of a requested record or information without unnecessary delay and in no case more than 45 calendar days after the written or personal request is received. Parents of an eligible student or an authorized representative of the parents shall have the right to access the student's records prior to an IEP meeting or hearing.
G. Right to Request Amendment of Student Record.
1. Request.
An authorized parent, guardian or eligible student who believes that information contained in the student record of the student is inaccurate or misleading or violates the privacy rights of the student may request that the District amend the student's record. Such request shall be in writing, signed and directed to the building principal, shall state the information deemed to be inaccurate, misleading or in violation of the privacy rights of the student, shall state why the record is believed to be inaccurate or misleading, and shall state how it is believed the information should be corrected. Grades may be challenged only on the basis of accuracy in recording and not on the basis of evaluation of performance. The building principal shall decide whether to amend the record of the student and shall notify the requesting party of his/her decision in writing within twenty (20) calendar days of receipt of the request. If the principal decides not to amend the record, he/she shall also notify the requesting party of his/her right to a hearing pursuant to section (G)(2).
2. Hearing.
A requesting party may, within fifteen (15) calendar days of mailing or personal delivery of the principal's response denying amendment to the record, file a written request for hearing on the matter with the Superintendent. A hearing shall be held before the Superintendent, or, upon the Superintendent's request, before the Board of Directors within twenty (20) calendar days of receipt of the request or at such other time as mutually agreed upon. The requesting party shall be mailed or have personally delivered to him/her a written notice of the time, date and place of the hearing at least five (5) calendar days in advance of the hearing. The requesting party may be assisted or represented by individuals of his/her choice. The Superintendent or the Board may also be advised by legal counsel. The principal may attend the hearing and may present evidence to support his/her denial to amend the student record. Other persons having a direct interest (e.g., the maker of the record) may also be present and present evidence. The requesting party may also present evidence to support his/her request for amendment of the record. The hearing shall be informal and shall not be governed by formal rules of evidence or procedure.
The Superintendent or Board of Directors shall consider all relevant evidence presented at the hearing and shall make a decision within fifteen (15) calendar days of the close of the hearing. The decision shall be in writing and shall include a summary of the evidence and the reasons for the decision. A copy of the decision shall be mailed or personally delivered to the requesting party. If the Superintendent or Board decides not to amend the record, the decision shall be placed in the student record and the requesting party shall be notified of the right to place in the record a statement commenting upon the information in the record and/or commenting upon the reasons for disagreeing with the Superintendent's or Board's decision. If the record or information which is disputed is released to any person, any comment provided shall also be given to the viewer.
H. Dissemination of Records.
1. Directory Information.
The District or its officials or employees may disclose the following directory information without obtaining consent from an authorized parent, guardian, or eligible student:
a. the student's name, age, enrollment status, address, and telephone number
b. the names, addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers of the student's parents or guardians
c. the student's date and place of birth
d. the student's grade level and fields of study
e. the student's participation in officially recognized activities and sports
f. the weight and height of members of athletic teams
g. the dates of attendance and the building attended in the District
h. degrees, honors, and awards received by the student
i. the most previous educational agency or institution attended by the student
j. Photographs and likenesses of the student
HOWEVER, if an authorized parent, guardian, or eligible student notifies the building principal or Superintendent in writing by the start of each school year [or within ten (10) calendar days of enrolling in the District if a student enters after the start of the school year] that he/she does not want any of the above-listed items to be considered directory information capable of being disclosed without consent, then such information shall not be released with respect to that student without consent as provided for in section (H)(2).
2. Other Personally Identifiable Information.
The District shall protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure and destruction stages. The District and its officials or employees shall not release, transfer or communicate or permit to be released, transferred or communicated any student record or personally identifiable information about a student, except directory information as provided in section (H)(1) to any person, institution or agency other than those persons specified in section (F)(1) without obtaining written consent or a written request from the authorized parent, guardian or eligible student. The consent or request must be in writing, dated and signed by the consenting or requesting party and shall state the records or portions of the records to be disclosed and the person or class of persons to whom the disclosure may be made. The requesting or consenting party may also request that a copy of the records to be disclosed be provided to the requesting or consenting party. Such a copy shall be provided if requested, if the party is consenting to a disclosure and shall be provided upon payment of copy fees if the party is requesting a disclosure. The fee shall not be charged if it would prevent the authorized student, parent or guardian from reviewing records. Any record or personally identifiable information about a student which is released pursuant to this section shall be accompanied with a statement that the party to whom the information is disclosed will not disclose the information to any other party without the prior written consent of the authorized parent, guardian or eligible student.
3. Juvenile Justice System.
The District will cooperate with the juvenile justice system in sharing information contained in student records regarding students who have become involved with the juvenile justice system. The District will enter into an interagency agreement with the juvenile justice agencies involved.
The purpose of the agreement shall be to allow for the sharing of information prior to a student’s adjudication in order to promote and collaborate between the District and the agencies to improve school safety, reduce alcohol and illegal drug use, reduce truancy, reduce in-school and out-of-school suspensions, and to support alternatives to in-school and out-of-school suspensions and expulsions which provide structured and well-supervised educational programs supplemented by coordinated and appropriate services designed to correct behaviors that lead to truancy, suspension, and expulsions and to support students in successfully completing their education.
The District may share any information with the agencies contained in a student’s record which is directly related to the juvenile justice system’s ability to effectively serve the student. Prior to adjudication, information contained in the record may be disclosed by the District to the agencies without parental consent or court order. Information contained in a student’s record may be disclosed by the District to the agencies after adjudication only with parental consent or a court order. Information shared pursuant to the agreement shall be used solely for determining the programs and services appropriate to the needs of the student or student’s family or coordinating the delivery of programs and services to the student or student’s family.
Confidential information shared between the District and the agencies shall remain confidential and shall not be shared with any other person, unless otherwise provided by law. Information shared under the agreement is not admissible in any court proceedings which take place prior to a disposition hearing, unless written consent is obtained from a student’s parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian. The District may discontinue information sharing with an agency if the District determines that the agency has violated the intent or letter of the agreement.
Agencies will contact the principal of the attendance center where the student is currently or was enrolled. The principal will then forward copies of the records within ten (10) business days of the request.
I. Record of Requests and Disclosures.
The District shall maintain a record log which shall indicate parties (including institutions and organizations) who have requested and/or obtained personally identifiable information from the record, the reason for the request or disclosure, and the date of the request and/or disclosure. The following need not, but may be, registered on the log:
1. requests by or disclosures to authorized parents, guardians or eligible students pursuant to subsections (F)(1)(a) and (b).
2. requests by or disclosures to authorized school officials or AEA personnel pursuant to subsections (F)(1)(c) and (d).
3. requests for or disclosures of directory information pursuant to subsection (H)(1).
The record log shall be available for inspection by authorized parents, guardians or eligible students.
J. Notification of Rights Under This Policy.
The Superintendent or his/her designee shall, at least once annually, preferably at the beginning of each school year or at registration, give to current students and their parents, a general notice of their rights under this policy. The notice shall also include a statement that if an authorized parent, guardian, or eligible student feels that the student's rights have been violated under this policy, he/she may file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20202-5920. The notice may be given in any manner calculated to apprise the students and parents, including by publication in a local newspaper, publication in a District newsletter, publication in the student handbooks or by special publication. The notice shall be given in a parent's or student's native language.
K. Copies of This Policy Maintained.
Copies of this policy shall be maintained in the Superintendent's office, in the Board Secretary's office, and in the office of each building principal. Students, prior students, and parents may obtain copies free of charge upon request.
L. Training.
The District will provide instruction to employees about rights and procedures under this policy.
Date of Last Review: October 14, 2019
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Date of Revision: October 14, 2019
01643848 |
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Legal References: 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 20 U.S.C. §1415; 34 C.F.R. Part 99, Part 300, Code of Iowa: 279.8, 279.9A, 279.9B, 280.19A, 280.24, 280.25, 622.10, 21.5, Chapter 22; 281 Iowa Admin. Code r. 12.3(4), Chapter 41; 641 Iowa Admin Code r. 7.8
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