1.21 Student Records and Access

The Broken Arrow Public Schools Board of Education is aware of, and intends to comply with the rights of students and parents under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Oklahoma Open Records Act. The superintendent will designate an administrator to oversee compliance with these two acts. For the purposes of this policy the school district uses the following definitions of terms.

Student -- Any individual who is or has been in attendance in the Broken Arrow Public School District and regarding whom the district maintains educational records.

Eligible Student -- At the age of 18 years all rights of parents or guardians specified in these two acts are transferred to the student, who then becomes an "eligible student".

Parents -- either natural parent of a student unless his or her rights under the acts have been removed by a court order, a guardian, or an individual acting as a parent or guardian in the absence of the student’s parent or guardian. The district assumes that either parent has the right of access to records, regardless of custody orders unless the district has been notified with evidence that this right is revoked. Documents such as a court order, state statute, or legally binding document relating to such matters as divorce, separation, or custody that specifically revoke the right to inspect and review records must be provided to the district to prevent access of a parent to records.

Unauthorized Person -- any party seeking access to student records who is not specifically granted
such access under this policy.

Educational Records -- are those records that are directly related to a student and are maintained by the district or a party acting for the district. The term does not include:


(1) Records of instructional, supervisory, and administrative personnel and educational personnel ancillary to those persons that are kept in the sole possession of the maker of the record, and are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the records.

(2) Records of a law enforcement unit of the district, but only if the educational records of the district are not disclosed to the law enforcement unit, and the law enforcement records are maintained separately from the educational records, are used only for law enforcement purposes, and are disclosed only to law enforcement officials of the same jurisdiction.

(3) Records of an individual who is employed by the district and that are made and maintained in the normal course of operations, relate to the individual’s capacity as an employee, and are not available for use for any other purpose. Records relating to a student who is employed by the district as a result of the status of student (work-study students, for example) are education records and are not accepted under this section.

(4) Records on a student who is 18 years of age or older or is attending an institution of post secondary education that are --
(a) Made or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting in a professional capacity or assisting in a paraprofessional capacity.
(b) Made, maintained, or used only in connection with treatment of the student; and
(c) Disclosed only to individuals providing the treatment. For the purpose of this definition, "treatment" does not include remedial educational activities or activities that are part of the program of instruction at the agency or institution; and

(5) Records that only contain information about an individual after the person is no longer a student in the Broken Arrow School District.

Personal Identifier -- is any data or information that make the subject of a record known. This includes the student’s name, the student’s parents or other family member; the address of the student or student’s family; personal identifier such as, the student’s social security number, a student number, a list of personal characteristics that would make the student’s identity easily traceable.

Legitimate educational interest --a person’s need to know in order to:

(a) Perform an administrative task required by the person’s position
(b) Perform a supervisory or instructional task related to the student’s education
(c) Perform a service or benefit for the student or the student’s family such as health care,
Counselling, student job placement, or student financial aid.


OKLAHOMA OPEN RECORDS ACT

The Oklahoma Open Records Act provides for release of directory information from student records to be provided to all parties requesting such information and FERPA allows distribution of said directory information. The district will release such information to requesting parties through the superintendent’s designee. The charge for such records is $.25 per page.

In accordance with the Open Records Act and in compliance with FERPA, the Broken Arrow Public School District designates the following personally identifiable information as directory information that will be released upon request, providing the information is a part of the student’s record and provided the district has not been notified to withhold the information.

1. Student’s name
2. Address
3. Telephone number
4. Date and place of birth
5. Major field of study
6. Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
7. Weight and height of members of athletic teams
8. Dates of attendance, degrees, and awards received
9. The most recent previous educational institution attended

Principals may release the above-mentioned student directory information to requesting colleges unless an exclusion request is on file for a specific student. All other requests for student directory information should be made through the superintendent’s designee at the administrative center. This includes requests from all public and private non-profit or for-profit entities.

Parents, guardians, and eligible students have the right to exclude directory information from public access by so notifying the school of attendance. The request should be made to the principal of the school in writing. A notation will then be made on the records to prevent release of the student directory information for the specified student. Once such a notation is made it remains in effect until the parent, guardian, or eligible student revokes the request by written notification to the principal.




NOTIFICATION OF FERPA AND OPEN RECORDS ACT RIGHTS

The superintendent’s designee will notify parents and eligible students yearly of their rights under FERPA and the Oklahoma Open Records Act by means of a district newsletter, newspaper notice, school handbooks, or individual notices. Enrollment packets contain a statement of rights. Parents are given a copy of the rights at all placement meetings or Individual Educational Plan (IEP) meetings for special education services, as well as when they give permission for individual student testing.

The following rights are specified.

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s educational record.
2. The right to request the amendment of education records to ensure they are not inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights. See administrative procedures for the process.
3. The right of consent to disclose education records except to the extent that FERPA and the Open Records Act authorize disclosure without consent.
4. The right to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Education and to receive information from the district as to where the complaint should be filed concerning alleged violations of the requirements of FERPA.
5. The right to obtain a copy of the FERPA policy adopted the district and to be informed as to how this request can be made. A translation of the policy will be provided to any parent, guardian, or eligible student upon request.
6. The right to exclude the release of directory information by following the procedures in the previous section.


The right to inspect and review the student’s educational record.

A parent or an eligible student may inspect and review the student’s cumulative record, upon request to the building principal. Access will be provided during school hours and within 45 days of the request.

Access to a child’s confidential records will be provided upon request before any IEP meeting or hearing relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a child to provide a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment, and in all cases within 45 days of a request. Access to a confidential record should be requested in writing from the Director of Special Services.

The right to access of education records of a student with a suspected or established disability shall not be withheld from parents or eligible students because of debts owed to the district.

The right to inspect student records also includes:

1. The right to an explanation and interpretation of the records by school officials.
2. The right to copies of the records if failure to provide the copies would effectively prevent the parent from exercising the right to inspect and review the records. A $.25 per page fee for photocopying may be charged. There will be no charge for searching for records.
3. The right to have a representative of the parent or eligible student inspect and review the records.


Types of and location of students’ educational records

TYPES LOCATION SCHOOL OFFICIAL

Cumulative files Counseling office School Counselor
(current students)

Cumulative files Warehouse Director of Ancillary
(former students) Services

Health records School health offices School Nurse

Confidential file Special Services office Special Services Director

Transcripts High School Counselors Office of Registrar


Disclosure of student records

All school officials have access to students’ educational records, when they have a legitimate educational interest in examining the information.

Written permission from the parent or eligible student is required to allow access to a student’s educational record or to provide copies of such records to unauthorized persons. The district will require such written permission except in the following instances:

(1) The disclosure is to duly elected school board members, school officials, including teachers, who have a legitimate educational interest in the information.
(2) The disclosure is to another school, school system, or institution of post secondary education where the student seeks or intends to enroll.

(3) The disclosure is to authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of the United States, The U.S. Secretary of Education, or State and Local Educational Authorities. Military services representatives shall have access to student directory information unless such access is specifically denied in writing by the parent, legal guardian, or student age 18 or over. Military services representatives shall have the same access to secondary school students as is generally provided to post secondary institutions or prospective employers unless denied in writing by the parent, legal guardian, or student age 18 or over.

(4) The disclosure is in connection with financial aid for which the student has applied or which the student has received, if necessary to determine eligibility for the aid, amount of the aid, conditions for the aid, or to enforce the terms and conditions of the aid.

(5) The disclosure is to parties who have a written agreement with, or are contracted by the district to conduct studies, provide testing, administer student aid, or provide instruction or other services to students as provided for in FERPA section 99.31 (6).

(6) The disclosure is to accrediting institutions to carry out their accrediting functions.

(7) The disclosure is to parents of eligible students if the parents claim the student as a dependent as defined the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

(8) The disclosure is to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena. The district will make a reasonable effort to notify the student’s parents or the eligible student before making a disclosure under this provision.


(9) The disclosure is to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.

(10) The disclosure contains only directory information as defined above and no written request has been made to except the directory information.

(11) The disclosure is directly to the parents of the student or the eligible student.

(12) The disclosure is authorized by a state statute adopted before November 19, 1974.

(13) The district may disclose, without consent or knowledge of the eligible student or parent, personally identifiable information in the educational records of a student to the Attorney General of the United States or her designee in response to an ex parte order in connection with the investigation or prosecution of terrorism crimes. The district is not required to record such disclosure of information and is protected from liability for disclosing such information in good faith.

Disclosure of confidential student files is provided only to the following persons upon request to the building Principal or Director of Special Services or their designee(s) for access. Representatives of non-district agencies seeking access to files will be asked to provide appropriate identification to district officials.

Special Education Teacher Registered Physical Therapists
Regular Teacher Physical Therapist Assistants
Administrators/Designated Adm. Personnel Occupational Therapists
Counselors, including Voc. Rehab. Certified Occup. Therapist Assistants
State Department of Education Personnel School Psychologists & Psychometrists
Vocational-Technical Education Personnel Speech/Language Pathologist/Therapists
Parents/Guardians/Surrogate Parents School Nurses
Student (if over 18 years old) Social Workers
Paraprofessionals/Teacher Assistants Other Related Service Providers
Student Teachers

A parent or eligible student must provide permission in writing for an unauthorized person to inspect a file or be given a copy of a student file. The signed permission will be included in the student file as a record of the disclosure of the file. The permission will include the date of access to the file and the name of the person who received access.

Right to request amendment of student records

Parents and eligible students may request an amendment to the student’s records if the record may be inaccurate, misleading, or violates the privacy or other rights of the student. A request for amendments of a cumulative record should be made in writing to the principal, stating the reasons for the request and specifying the change requested. A request for an amendment to the confidential record should be given in writing to the Director of Special Services.

Records may not be destroyed or deleted while a request for amendment is pending.

A hearing will be conducted by the Principal or the superintendent’s designee (cumulative records) or the Director of Special Services (confidential records) within 45 days. The parent will be informed of the date and time of the hearing and may attend to state the reasons and rationale for the request. School authorities with knowledge about the item(s) in question may attend also. The principal, superintendent’s designee or director conducting the hearing will communicate the decision to the requester in writing. The communication will also specify the right to place a statement in the student records and the right to appeal the decision to the Superintendent or designee.

If, as a result of the hearing, it is determined that the record is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise violates the privacy or other rights of the child, the record will be amended. The requester will be informed of the decision in writing and invited to inspect the record and review the changes.
If the decision is to let the record stand as is, and the parent or eligible student submits a statement to include in the student’s records the school will maintain the statement as a part of the file as long as the record is maintained by the school. When records of the student are provided to an agency or other third party, the statement will also be provided.




Safeguards for confidential records

The district will protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure, and destruction states. All confidential special education records for students with disabilities are maintained in a confidential folder, separate from student cumulative records. The records are to be maintained in a secure manner, which prevents unauthorized access.

The Director of Special Services has the responsibility for ensuring the maintenance of the confidential files. The Director will see that district personnel are trained in policy and procedures regarding confidentiality and those confidentiality procedures are posted. The director will maintain a list of current names and positions of persons in the district who may have access to confidential files. Requests to review and inspect confidential records should be addressed to the Director of Special Services.

Destruction of student confidential records

All confidential records will be maintained for at least five years from the time they are generated. After this time, if the records are no longer needed for educational purposes they may be destroyed providing there is no outstanding request by a parent or eligible student to review the records.

Parents will be notified at least sixty days prior to the destruction of education records and will have the opportunity to obtain the records before destruction. Parents are notified in writing at their last known address. The district will document the effort to notify and maintain the documentation for at least five years.

Permanent maintenance of student record

A permanent record of the student’s name, address, phone number, grades, attendance record, classes attended, grade level completed, and year completed shall be maintained without time limitation. The parent or eligible student may request a copy of this record. Fees of $.25 per page may be assessed for photocopying. No charge will be made to search for a student record.

Right to file complaints of alleged violations of the requirements of FERPA

Parents and eligible students who have concerns about district non-compliance with the requirements of FERPA may contact the Superintendent’s designee. They also have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education and the phone number and the Superintendent’s designee will provide address. The phone number is 202 732-4605. The address is:

The Family Policy and Regulations Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave., SW
Washington D.C. 20202-4605


Policy Adoption: November 6, 1995, Broken Arrow Board of Education, Amended, March 3, 2003.