Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
And
Technology Related Policies and Procedures
Security and
Confidentiality of
Information
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Certified Employees
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A Federal Law that protects the privacy of student
educational records. The law applies to all schools that
receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S.
Department of Education. (School Lunch/Breakfast
Program, I.D.E.A., Title Programs, etc.) Board Policy JRA
Student Records, Administrative Rule JRA-R
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Certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights
transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18, or attends a
school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have
transferred are "eligible students.“
Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's
education records maintained by the school.
Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct
records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school
decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the
right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to
amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a
statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested
information.
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schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in
order to release any information from a student's education record. However,
FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the
following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):
o School officials with legitimate educational interest;
o Other schools to which a student is transferring;
o Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
o Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
o Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
o Accrediting organizations;
o To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
o Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
o State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to
specific State law.
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May disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a
student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth,
honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell
parents and eligible students about directory information and allow
parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request
that the school not disclose directory information about them.
Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights
under FERPA.
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The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that
requires the school district, with certain exceptions, to obtain your written
consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from a
child’s educational records. However, the school may disclose some student
information without written consent when the information is designated
“Directory Information” unless the parent/guardian has advised the district to
the contrary in accordance with district procedures.
The primary use for Directory Information by the District is to include this type of
information in certain school publications. It is generally not considered harmful
or an invasion of privacy if released. Examples of school publications are:
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a playbill or program, showing a child’s role in a drama or music production
the annual yearbook
honor roll or other recognition lists published at school or in newspapers
graduation programs
sports statistics listed in programs, such as football which may include height
and weight of team members.
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Directory Information can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a
parent’s prior written consent. Outside organizations include, but are not limited
to:
• other schools the student is seeking to attend (transcripts, etc.)
• class ring manufacturers
• state or federal authorities auditing, evaluating programs or enforcing state or
federal laws
• a court by order of a subpoena
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Schools will treat each student’s education records as confidential and primarily
for local school use. The exception to this rule is for directory information, which
includes; the student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of
birth, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and
height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, diploma or certificate
and awards received, electronic email address, photograph, grade level, the
most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student,
and other similar information.
The district takes special care not to identify students by name or the school
they attend in most cases. However, published names in yearbooks,
student/school newspapers, are considered domain and can be reproduced by
the media.
Two federal laws require school districts that receive assistance under the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to provide military recruiters, upon request, with
three Directory Information categories-names, addresses, and telephone listings
- unless parents have notified the district that they do not want their child’s
information disclosed without their prior written consent.
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School health records and special education information are also
considered part of the student record and are protected under FERPA.
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As a school employee you must
be careful not to discuss any
educational program
information relating to your
students with anyone who does
not have a need to know.
Educational Records of Students which are defined by F.E.R.P.A. as
the following:
Any information directly related to a student, specifically any information
recorded in any way, including, but not limited to:
• verbal conversation
• handwriting
• print
• computer media
• video or audio tape
• film
• microfilm
• microfiche
• Any information maintained by educational agencies or institutions, or by
parties acting for the agency or institutions (e.g., special education schools,
and health or social services institutions)
Information should not be disclosed (verbal or written) which could
identify a student as one who receives special services outside
the scope of those who need to know in order to provide such
services. This includes but is not limited to such examples as:
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Conversations with family and friends
Conversations with staff members without “need to know”
Newsletters
Memos to staff
Faculty bulletin boards
Newspaper articles and/or photos
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Mrs. Johnson, in attempt to publish student work, posted on the wall
the top 3 projects in her class including their grades.
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Is this a violation of F.E.R.P.A.?
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The public posting of grades by the student's name, student
identification number, or social security number is a
violation of FERPA. Even without the name, using a student
I.D. number or any part of a social security number violates
FERPA, as the information may be personally identifiable to
the student.
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Mr. Smith passed out his student’s tests with grades on them, row
by row.
Miss Jones asked the student helper of the day to pass out
students graded homework.
Is this a violation of F.E.R.P.A.?
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Assignments and papers that contain "personally identifiable"
information should not be distributed to the student in a way that
would allow other students to view the information. Graded
papers should not be left unattended in an office or classroom for
students to sort through or returned to students via another
student. Both of these examples are a violation of FERPA.
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A female student reported that her teacher
held her picture up in front of the class as
an example of information available in a
new class list system. The student was
upset about the public display of her
picture, and also was concerned about
other possible inappropriate uses of her
picture.
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The student ID picture is defined as
confidential and should not be used or
displayed in any public setting without the
student's permission.
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Mr. Jones has just had a horrible day with his students, John Brown
was absolutely horrible. Mr. Jones was so frustrated that he went to
the teacher’s lounge and discussed this student with other teachers
in the lounge.
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Is this a violation of F.E.R.P.A.?
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At a church gathering, Jane Doe who
teaches at the local school is sitting
next to a long-time friend, Sally Smith.
Sally asks Jane if she knows the new
family in town, the Brown’s. Jane said
she does and that the children go to
her school and that one of them is in
her class. Sally asks Jane if there is
anything strange about the family – the
children are up at all hours and causing
trouble in the neighborhood. Jane tells
Sally that one of the children has some
serious problems and is receiving
special classes and counseling.
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Is this a violation of F.E.R.P.A.?
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A bomb threat is called in to one of the schools. Susan, the
school secretary calls one of her friends, Carol, in another
school to tell her about the incident. Carol asks Susan what
happened and did she need to come and get her child.
Susan tells Carol, no John Brown’s son Jimmy, called in the
bomb threat.
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Is this a violation of F.E.R.P.A.?
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A student complained that I left my grade book open on my desk
and he could see not only his own grades, but grades for the whole
class. Isn't that getting a little picky?
A: No, actually, it's not. Everyone who deals with protected student
information needs to be cautious about "passive" and unintended
releases of information. This includes leaving information visible on
your desk or walking away from a computer screen that displays
student information. We even need to be alert to where monitors
are placed, so that they are not visible through a window or
doorway.
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A bus driver had to break up a fight on the school bus. The
driver is very frustrated and tells the other bus drivers that
Suzy Smith is a terror and that she started a fight on the
school bus today.
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Is this a violation of F.E.R.P.A.?
 YES!!!
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The other drivers do not have a need to know this
information.
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A housekeeping or maintenance staff member has to go to
a school and clean up a break-in. As they talk to other
housekeeping or maintenance staff, they tell them that
those Jones boys are trouble – they had to clean up from a
break-in that those boys did at the school over the
weekend.
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Is this a violation of F.E.R.P.A.?
 YES!!!
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There was not a need to know this information about these
children.
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A cell phone has been confiscated and handed to you. You
scroll through the contacts and then read the text
messages logged into the phone. You decide to call
someone from this phone to identify the owner of the cell
phone.
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Is this a violation of F.E.R.P.A.?
 YES!!!
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You do not have a need to know the private contents of the
cell phone.
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John Brown is creating a disturbance in a classroom. You
use the walkie talkie and tell the School Resource Officer or
an administrator that John Brown is in Mrs. Johnson’s
classroom creating chaos.
Suzy Smith is disrupting the cafeteria. You call on the
intercom for the School Resource Office to get Suzy Smith
from the cafeteria.
Is this a violation of F.E.R.P.A.?
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You should ask the School Resource Officer to call you on a
secure land line or to come to the office and discuss in
private.
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Mrs. Jones will be the interim teacher for Mrs. Smith who will soon be
away on maternity leave. Mrs. Smith asked the school nurse if she
might share with Mrs. Jones the emergency plans and Individualized
Health Plans of her students with chronic health conditions. What
should the nurse’s response be?
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As interim teacher, Mrs. Jones has a need to know the health conditions
of the children for whom she will be responsible. However, the
importance of confidentiality and privacy laws should be explained to
Mrs. Jones prior to disclosing the information.
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You have a jump/flash drive saving information to transport
to another computer or home. Are you liable for all of this
information?
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The person and the District are
liable. If you are using a
jump/flash drive and you lose it
or it is stolen, you must report it
immediately to the Director of
Technology.
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When you use a district purchased/owned computer, you are
responsible for all activities that occur with that computer at any
time of the day.
Your login and password are confidential. If you login into the
computer, you are responsible for all activity on that computer.
This is why you should never leave your computer unattended or
let anyone use your computer while it is logged in under your
name.
If you take a district computer home, you are responsible for all
activity that occurs on that machine. It is monitored and
retrieved.
You may not use a personal device and place student information
on it.
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The teacher or teachers that work with the
particular students.
The principal or other administrative
personnel. (This does not include
secretaries, custodians, or other support
staff that does not directly work with the
individual student.)
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Criminal charges may be filed against:
o You
o The Superintendent
o The Board of Education
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Personnel Information (Board Policy GBJ Personnel Records and Files)
An employee’s personnel file includes records and documents
concerning the employee.
Access to the file is limited to:
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Employee’s school principal/immediate supervisor
Superintendent
School officials involved in the evaluation process
School Board if involved in promotion, demotion, suspension or dismissal
Payroll information is placed in a separate file and this information is
limited to persons involved in payroll.
o (Employees may not discuss specific personnel and payroll information with
any other school or district personnel as well as with anyone outside of the
school district. Any questions concerning these matters should be directed
to the immediate supervisor.)
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Staff Conduct (Board Policy GBE Staff Rights and Responsibilities)
(Board Policy GBEA Staff Ethics/Conflict of Interest)
May not use or disclose confidential information in the course of
employment
All staff members have a responsibility to make themselves familiar
with, and abide by, federal and state laws as they affect their work.
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Use of Computers (Board Policy IJNDB Use of Technology Resources in
Instruction) (Faculty and Staff Acceptable Use Policy)
Only expect limited privacy of contents of any personal files
Do not provide your password to another person
Do not provide access to district computer systems to anyone,
especially non-employees
Email should be primarily used for school-related business
Do not send spam, chain letters, jokes, etc.
District does not monitor email, but monitors the system. However,
email may be requested in eDiscovery or FOIA requests.
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Electronic Mail Retention Procedures (Article 9 General Retention
Schedules for School Districts)
Email may be accessible to the public and some should not depending
on the content of the record as determined by FOIA, FERPA, and HIPAA.
Email is archived and retained
Email signatures should contain:
o User name
o Title
o School/Office name
o School/Office address
o School/Office phone number
o School/Office fax number
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No other messages may be added to the signature
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Employee Use of Electronic Communication
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An employee will not use an electronic communication
device, including a cellular phone or other mobile
communications device, while on duty. This includes, but is
not limited to, receiving or placing calls, text messages,
surfing the Internet, checking phone messages or receiving
or responding to email. Cell phones should be turned off at
all times.
An employee will not allow a student to use the employee’s
cell phone for any purpose.
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Employee Use of Electronic Communication with Students
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Dillon School District Four prohibits any type of personal
relationship between a school employee and a student that
may be reasonably perceived as unprofessional.
Students will not be contacted using personal employee cell
phones through calls, photos or texting.
Employees will use land line phones to contact students, if
approved by the building administrator.
Employees will not use social networking sites to
communicate with students.
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Employees may post information for students such as
homework, practice schedules, etc. on district sponsored
websites.
Employees will not post any student or group photographs
on any website that is not the official school district
website(s).
Employees may not contact students using a student’s
personal email accounts (such as yahoo.com, etc.).
Employees may not use their personal email accounts to
contact students (such as bellsouth.net, etc.).
All email between employee and student must be through
the district email system.
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Employees are encouraged to block students from viewing
personal websites or online networking profiles.
If an employee creates and/or posts inappropriate content
on a website or profile and it has a negative impact on the
employee’s ability to perform his/her job as it relates to
working with students, the employee will be subject to
discipline up to and including dismissal.
Employees will not use text messaging to contact students.
This includes, but is not limited to: coaches, club sponsors,
band and cheerleaders. Formal district communication
systems will be used.
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Employees may use the school district calling system to
contact parents/legal guardians and provide information
regarding practice schedules, club activities, etc.
(Cf. IJNDB, GBEB, GBEBB)
 Inform
your
Superintendent or
Principal
 Inform your school
Attorney
 Inform your insurance
company if a formal
complaint is made
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When in doubt – don’t give it out.
Refer requests for student academic information to the school office.
Information on a computer should be treated with the same confidentiality
as a paper copy.
Do not leave confidential information displayed on an unattended
computer.
Cover or put away papers that contain confidential information if you are
going to step away from your desk.
Do not provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone in trying to
locate a student on campus that is not part of the school staff. Refer them
to the school office.
Do not discuss any student information with anyone that does not have a
“need to know”
Never discuss student information with anyone outside of the school.
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Never say anything
bad about a child
with whom you are
working!
If it isn’t positive,
don’t say it!
Treat all students as
you would like to be
treated!