Book
District Policies - Jefferson County School District R-1
Section
J: Students
Title
Inspection, Amendment, and Disclosure of Education Records and Personally
Identifiable Information
Number
JRA/JRC
Status
Active
Legal
20 U.S.C. 1232g (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974)
34 C.F.R. 99.1 et seq. (regulations)
C.R.S. 19-1-301 et seq.
C.R.S. 22-32-109.1(6)
C.R.S. 22-32-109.3
C.R.S. 24-72-204 (3)(d)
Adopted
June 26, 1997
Last Revised
TBD
Last Reviewed
TBD
Purpose
In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Colorado Open Records
Act, and other applicable law, the purpose of this policy is to give parents and eligible students the
following rights with respect to Education Records (as defined below):

The right to inspect and review Education Records maintained by the district

The right to request that the district amend Education Records

The right to consent in writing to the disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information (as
defined below) from Education Records, except under certain permitted situations

The right to file a complaint with the Department of Education concerning alleged failures by
the district to comply with FERPA
The purpose of this policy is also to establish the processes by which parents and eligible students
may exercise such rights.
Finally, this policy is intended to promote transparency in the district’s disclosure of Personally
Identifiable Information from Education Records.
Definitions
For purposes of this policy, the following terms will have the following meanings:
Education Records means those records that are directly related to a student and maintained by the
district or by a party acting for the district.
Personally Identifiable Information or PII means information that, alone or in combination, is
linked or linkable to a specific student that would allow a reasonable person in the school community,
who does not have personal knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to identify such student with
reasonable certainty. PII includes, but is not limited to, a student’s name; the name of the student’s
parent or other family members; the address of the student or student’s family; biometric records
such as fingerprints, facial characteristics, and handwriting; personal identifiers, such as social
security numbers; and other indirect identifiers, such as the student’s date of birth, place of birth,
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mother’s maiden name, and IP addresses. As a general matter, the district will not disclose PII absent
prior written consent, except under certain permitted situations, which are described in detail below.
Directory Information is Personally Identifiable Information that would not generally be considered
harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed and designated as directory information by the district.
The categories of information that the district designates as Directory Information are set forth in
more detail below. The following categories of information are not, and will not be designated as,
Directory Information:
Student/parent telephone numbers and addresses
Student ID numbers
Student personal email addresses
Student date and place of birth
Social Security Numbers
Biometric records
The district may disclose these categories of information under certain permitted situations, but the
district will not disclose these categories of information under the Directory Information exception set
forth below.
Authorized representative means an entity or individual that has been designated in writing by a
state or local educational authority, the Government Accountability Office, the Office of Attorney
General/Department of Justice, or the Department of Education to conduct – with respect to federalor state-supported education programs – an audit or evaluation, or a compliance or enforcement
activity in connection with federal legal requirements that relate to such programs.
Custodian of Records means the district’s Information Privacy Officer or designee. The contact
information for the Custodian of Records is as follows:
Jefferson County School District R-1
Attn: Information Privacy Officer
1829 Denver West Drive, # 27
Golden, Colorado 80401
303-982-6500
School Official means a person employed by the district in an administrative, supervisory,
instructional, academic, or research, or support staff position; a person serving on the Board of
Education or an official Board committee; a student serving on an official committee or assisting
another School Official in performing his or her tasks. School Official also means contractors,
consultants, and volunteers or other parties with whom the district has contracted as its agent to
provide a district service or function (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent), but only if
such parties:
(a)
(b)
(c)
Perform district services or functions for which the district would otherwise use its
employees;
Are under direct control of the district with respect to the use and maintenance of PII;
and
Agree not to re-disclose the PII, except as permitted by the district in accordance with
this policy JRA/JRC and applicable district contracts.
Requests to Inspect/Review Education Records
In most cases, a parent/guardian has the right to review his or her student’s Education Records.
Ordinarily, this right transfers to the student when the student reaches 18 years of age or is attending
an institution of postsecondary education (an “eligible student”). However, if an eligible student is a
dependent of his or her parents/guardians for federal tax purposes, then the parents/guardians share
this right with the eligible student and the district may disclose the eligible student’s Education
Records to the parents/guardians without the eligible student’s prior written consent.
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Requests to review Education Records that are not generally accessible to parents/guardians or
eligible students through other means (e.g., through Infinite Campus) should be submitted to the
Custodian of Records using the approved district form, which is available at the district’s website. The
Custodian of Records or his/her designee will use reasonable methods to authenticate the identity of
parents/guardians and eligible students who request to review Education Records. For example, the
Custodian of Records generally will require requestors to provide identification and/or legal documents
in support of their requests.
Within a reasonable period of time of, but in any event not more than 45 days after receiving the
request, the Custodian of Records will contact the requestor to set a date and time when the
Education Records will be available for inspection and review at the district’s offices. During the
scheduled review, the Custodian of Records will make district personnel available to respond to
reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the Education Records in question.
If circumstances effectively prevent a parent/guardian or eligible student from exercising the right to
review the requested Education Records, the district may provide such parent/guardian or eligible
student with a copy of the requested records and, generally, may charge a fee for such copy. In lieu
of providing copies of the requested records, the district may make other arrangements for the review
of the requested records.
More information about the district’s processes for the inspection and review of Education Records,
including information about fees that the district may charge, is available at the district’s website.
Requests to Release Education Records
An eligible student or parent/guardian may ask the district to release specific Education Records to a
third party by completing the district-approved authorization form available at the district’s website.
The authorization should clearly specify the Education Records to be released. The written
authorization will become an Education Record of the student maintained by the district. The eligible
student or parent/guardian may revoke an authorization to release Education Records at any time by
submitting such revocation in writing using the district approved form available at the district’s
website.
Requests to Amend Education Records
An eligible student or parent/guardian who believes that information contained in an Education Record
is inaccurate or misleading, or violates the privacy or other rights of the student, may request that the
district amend the record.
A request to amend an Education Record should be submitted to the Custodian of Records using the
district-approved form located at the district’s website. Within a reasonable time (but not more than
15 school days) of receiving a request to amend an Education Record, the Custodian of Records will
decide whether to amend the Education Record as requested and will notify the requester of such
decision in writing. If the Custodian decides not to amend the Education Record as requested, the
Custodian will notify the requester of his or her right to request a formal hearing as set forth below.
An eligible student or parent/guardian may request a formal hearing on his/her request to amend an
Education Record no later than 10 school days after receiving the custodian of records’ decision not to
amend the Education Record as requested. A request for a formal hearing should be made in writing
and addressed to the superintendent of schools. The hearing will be held within a reasonable time (not
to exceed 15 school days) after the superintendent’s receipt of the request. Notice of the date, place,
and time of the hearing will be forwarded to the parent/guardian or eligible student by certified mail.
The hearing will be conducted by the superintendent or designee. The parent/guardian or eligible
student will be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to the issues raised
and may be assisted or represented by an individual, including an attorney, of his/her choice at
his/her own expense.
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The district official conducting the hearing will make a decision in writing within 10 school days after
the conclusion of the hearing. The decision will be based upon the evidence presented at the hearing
and will include a summary of the evidence and the reason for the decision. The decision will include a
statement informing the parent/guardian or eligible student that he/she has a right to place a
statement commenting upon the information in the Education Record and/or setting forth any reason
for disagreement and that any such explanation will be maintained by the district and disclosed with
the Education Record in question. The district will send the decision to the parent/guardian or eligible
student by certified mail.
Disclosure of PII without Prior Written Consent
It is important to the district to disclose PII only as permitted by law or policy and, when feasible, in a
manner that maximizes student and parent privacy. Toward this end, the district does not disclose PII
without prior written consent from the parent/guardian or eligible student, except under certain
permitted situations, which are described in more detail in this section. Even when disclosing PII under
the following permitted situations, the district will have administrative, physical, and/or technical
safeguards in place to protect PII from unauthorized disclosure or re-disclosure.
1.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent to School Officials whom the district has
determined to have legitimate educational interests in such PII. The district has determined that
a School Official has a legitimate educational interest if the School Official needs to review PII in
order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities to the district. For example, a student’s
physical education teacher generally would not have a legitimate educational interest in the PII
contained in the student’s records from college counseling sessions with the school counselor.
The district uses reasonable methods to ensure that School Officials obtain PII only from those
Education Records in which they have a legitimate educational interest. Such methods include a
combination of physical, technical, and administrative safeguards, which are intended to limit
access in accordance with this policy JRA/JRC.
Before disclosing PII under this permitted situation to an outside party who meets the definition
of School Official, district staff will conduct due diligence with respect to the outside party’s data
privacy practices to confirm that they comport with district-approved standards. Additionally,
the district will require such outside party to enter into a written contract containing, among
other things, provisions intended to protect PII from unauthorized disclosure or re-disclosure in
accordance with this policy JRA/JRC and district-approved standards.
Example:
The district routinely contracts with outside companies (e.g., Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt) to purchase curriculum for district students. The curricula that the district
purchases typically contain online components hosted by the outside company, which
allow students to access additional curricular materials and assess their progress
toward instructional goals. The district does not obtain prior written consent from
parents/guardians before disclosing PII through these online components of purchased
curricula. However, before contracting with an outside company with whom the
district intends to share PII, district staff will conduct due diligence and require a
written contract as set forth above.
2.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent to officials of another school, school
system, or institution of postsecondary education where the student seeks or intends to enroll,
or where the student is already enrolled so long as the disclosure is for purposes related to the
student’s transfer.
Example:
When a district student transfers to another school district, the receiving school district
typically submits a request for the transferring student’s Education Records, which
contain PII. Under this permitted situation, the district will disclose the Education
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Records of the transferring student to the receiving school district without obtaining
prior written consent from the parent/guardian of the transferring student. However,
the only records that the district will disclose are those related to the student’s
transfer, such as the student’s cumulative file, special education file (including IEPs
and Section 504 plans), transcripts, assessment and grade records, disciplinary
records (if any), and attendance records.
3.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent to Authorized Representatives, but only in
connection with, and only as necessary to carry out, an audit or evaluation of federal- or statesupported education programs, or for the enforcement of or compliance with federal legal
requirements that relate to such programs. Before disclosing PII in this permitted situation, the
district will verify that there is a FERPA-compliant written designation between the designating
agency and the particular Authorized Representative. When feasible, the district will require the
Authorized Representative to enter into a written contract containing, among other things,
provisions intended to protect PII from unauthorized disclosure or re-disclosure in accordance
with this policy JRA/JRC and district-approved standards.
Example:
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) oversees a number of state-supported
education programs (e.g., School Meal Program), which programs CDE is legally
required to audit. To discharge these duties, CDE routinely designates third-party
auditors as its Authorized Representatives for conducting the legally required audits.
CDE has developed FERPA-compliant criteria for designating these third-parties as its
Authorized Representatives. The district collaborates with CDE to comply with FERPA
and other applicable law in the disclosure and use of PII for audit/evaluation/
enforcement purposes.
4.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent in connection with financial aid for which a
student has applied or which a student has received, but only if the information is necessary to
determine eligibility for, amount of, or conditions for the aid or to enforce the terms and
conditions of the aid.
Example:
When a district student applies for financial aid to assist with the post-secondary
education expenses, the agency receiving and reviewing the application will usually
contact the district to request the student’s PII to confirm the student’s eligibility for
such aid. Under this permitted situation, the district will disclose the student’s PII
without the prior written consent of the parent/guardian of the student applicant.
However, the only PII that the district will disclose is the PII necessary to determine
the eligibility for, amount of, or conditions for the aid, such as free and reduced lunch
status, transcripts, grades, and attendance/behavior reports.
5.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent to state and local officials or authorities,
including, but not limited to, law enforcement officials, if the disclosure concerns the juvenile
justice system and the system’s ability to effectively serve, prior to adjudication, the student
whose PII is released. Before the district discloses PII under this permitted situation, the district
will require the officials and authorities to whom the PII is disclosed certify in writing to the
district that the information will not be disclosed to any other party, except as provided under
state law, without the prior written consent of the parent of the student.
Example:
If law enforcement, in conjunction with the district attorney’s office, is investigating
allegations that a district student committed a crime with the intention of offering the
student the opportunity to participate in a diversion program in lieu of pursuing a
criminal conviction, and the law enforcement agency/district attorney’s office requests
PII regarding the student’s discipline and attendance, the district will disclose such PII
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without obtaining prior written consent from the parent/guardian, provided that the
law enforcement agency/district attorney’s office submits the written certification set
forth above.
6.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent to organizations that conduct studies for
or on behalf of the district in order to (a) develop, validate or administer predictive tests, (b)
administer student aid programs, or (c) improve instruction.
Examples:
6(a) – If the district contracts with a third-party to develop a district assessment, the
district will disclose PII collected through the assessment without obtaining prior
written consent from the parent/guardian in order to determine the validity of the
assessment.
6(b) – At this time, the district does not contract with organizations that conduct
studies for or on behalf of the district in order to administer student aid programs.
6(c) – If the district contracts with a company to evaluate an instructional intervention
program, the district will disclose PII collected from the students who received the
intervention to determine the intervention’s effectiveness.
7.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent to accrediting organizations, but only as
necessary to allow them to carry out their accrediting functions.
Example:
In accordance with the Education Accountability Act of 2009, C.R.S. §§ 22-11-101 to 605, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is required to annually (1)
determine the level of attainment of each school district and each public school using
certain performance indicators, including, but not limited to, student longitudinal
growth and student achievement levels on statewide assessments, and (2) assign a
corresponding accreditation category. Toward this end and without obtaining prior
written consent from parents/guardians, the district shares such student performance
indicators (which include PII) with CDE on an annual basis. The district collaborates
with CDE to comply with FERPA and other applicable law in the disclosure and use of
PII for accreditation purposes.
8.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent to parents/ guardians of a dependent
student as defined by applicable law.
Example:
If the parents/guardians of an eligible student request to see the eligible student’s PII,
and provided they can demonstrate that the eligible student is still their dependent for
tax purposes, the district will disclose the eligible student’s PII to the
parents/guardians without obtaining the eligible student’s prior written consent.
9.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent if the disclosure is to comply with a
judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena. Unless prohibited by the terms of the judicial order or
subpoena, the district will make a reasonable effort to notify the parent/guardian or eligible
student of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance so that he or she may seek
protective action.
Example:
If a student is involved as a party to civil or criminal litigation, and his/her Education
Records, including the PII contained therein, are relevant to such litigation such that
the opposing party serves the district with a subpoena for such Education Records,
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then the district will contact the parent/guardian or eligible student in advance of
compliance to notify them that the district has received a subpoena and intends to
disclose the records. If the parent/guardian or eligible student desires to prevent
disclosure of the records, he or she may seek protective action from the court that
issued the subpoena.
10.
The district may disclose PII without prior written consent to appropriate parties (e.g., law
enforcement, Department of Social Services) in connection with an emergency if knowledge of
the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals. In
making a determination to disclose PII under this permitted situation, the district will take into
account the totality of the circumstances pertaining to a threat to the health or safety of a
student or other individuals. If the district determines that there is an articulable and significant
threat to the health or safety of a student or other individuals, it may disclose the PII. The
district will use reasonable efforts to provide after-the-fact notification of the disclosure to the
parent/guardian or eligible student.
Example:
If a law enforcement officer contacts a district school based on a reasonable belief that
one of the district’s students has a firearm in his possession and is going to harm
himself or others and the law enforcement officer requests the student’s PII (e.g,
name, parents’ names, home address, home or cell phone number, grade, disciplinary
records), then the building principal of the school in which the student is enrolled will
determine whether there is an articulable significant threat to the health or safety of
the student or others. If the principal determines that there is an articulable
significant threat to the health or safety of the student or others, then the principal
may disclose the PII necessary to allow the law enforcement officials to respond to the
threat without obtaining prior written consent from the parent/guardian.
11.
The district discloses PII without prior written consent if the district has designated the PII as
Directory Information. The district designates the following categories of PII as Directory
Information:
Student’s name
Student’s school-based email address
Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
Weight and height of members of athletic teams
Dates of attendance
Grade level
Enrollment status
Honors and awards received
Most recent and previous school attended by the student
Photographic, video or electronic images maintained by the district of students engaged in
classroom and extracurricular programs, activities and other school functions, provided
that such information may only be shared with the public through the district’s
newsletters, reports, websites, or other district communications
A parent/guardian or eligible student has the right to refuse to permit the designation of any or
all of the foregoing categories of information as Directory Information by opting out in
accordance with the process and deadlines set forth in the district’s Annual Notification of Rights
(defined below). However, this right may not be used to prevent the district from disclosing the
student’s name, identifier, or district email address in a class in which the student is enrolled or
to prevent the district from requiring the student to wear or otherwise publicly disclose on school
property student ID badges or cards that exhibits information that may be designated as
Directory Information.
If a parent/guardian or eligible student opts out from having one or more categories of PII
designated as Directory Information, the district may still disclose such PII without prior written
consent under one or more of the other permitted situations set forth above. For example, a
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parent/guardian may opt out of having his student’s school-based email address designated as
Directory Information, in which case, the district may not include the student’s email address on
a class roster that is provided to other students’ parents. However, the district may nonetheless
disclose the student’s school-based email address to district staff or outside companies who
meet the definition of School Official and have legitimate educational interests in the student’s
email address.
Examples:
If local media contact the district to request a district volleyball player’s name, grade,
height, and position, then the district will provide such information without obtaining
prior written consent and provided that the student’s parent/guardian has not opted
out of having the district designate such student’s information as Directory
Information.
12.
As required by Colorado law, the district, without prior written consent, will disclose a secondary
student’s name, address, and home telephone number to military recruiting officers who request
such information unless parents/guardians or eligible students have opted out by following the
process set forth in the Annual Notification of Rights (defined below).
13.
As required by Colorado law on or before December 31 of each school year, the district, without
prior written consent, will disclose to the CCHE the names and mailing addresses of those
students enrolled in the eighth grade for use in mailing the postsecondary educational
opportunities and higher education admission guidelines.
14.
The district operates a program to assist families applying for and enrolling in the Colorado
Medicaid Program. For students who enroll in the Colorado Medicaid Program through the
district, the district, without prior written consent, will release the students’ names, dates of
birth, and genders to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (Colorado’s
Medicaid agency) for the purpose of verifying Medicaid eligibility of such students.
Disclosure of De-identified Education Records
The district discloses de-identified Education Records without prior written consent, but only to
district-approved organizations for research purposes and only if such organizations contractually
agree not to re-disclose or re-identify such de-identified Education Records. De-identified Education
Records are records from which the district has removed all PII and for which the district has made a
reasonable determination that students’ identities are not personally identifiable, whether through
single or multiple releases, and taking into account other reasonable available information.
Aggregate Data
The district routinely discloses aggregate data to third parties, including state and federal agencies.
“Aggregate data” means data collected from individual Education Records that have been combined
for reporting purposes and that are maintained in a form that does not permit the identification of
specific students. Aggregate data does not contain PII and cannot be manipulated to produce PII.
Annual Notification of Rights
At the beginning of each academic year, the district will publish its Annual Notification of Rights
informing parents/guardians and eligible students of their rights under FERPA and this policy. The
Annual Notification of Rights will outline the process that parents/guardians and eligible students may
follow to opt out of having the district designate their PII as Directory Information, and will establish
reasonable deadlines for completing such process. The Annual Notification of Rights likewise will
outline the process for opting out of having student PII disclosed to military recruiters.
Records of Requests and Disclosures
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To the extent required by law, the district will keep records of requests for access to and disclosure of
PII from district Education Records. When feasible, the district will keep such records with the
Education Records of each student. If it is not feasible to keep such records with the Education
Records of each student, then beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, and continuing thereafter,
the district will maintain a list of individuals and entities having access to, or receiving disclosures of,
student PII and the applicable categories of PII being accessed/disclosed. Such list will be published
on the district’s website so that it is available to the public. Beginning with the 2015-2016 school
year, the district also will publish the form contracts that it uses with outside parties when disclosing
PII in accordance with this policy JRA/JRC. Individual contracts involving the disclosure of PII in
accordance with this policy will be subject to public inspection in accordance with the Colorado Open
Records Act and district policy KDB. If district time and resources so permit, the district may publish
such contracts on its website.
Complaint Process
Complaints regarding alleged violations of this policy may be submitted to the Custodian of Records or
to the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW,
Washington DC 20202-8520. The Custodian of Records will establish a process to investigate and
respond to complaints within a reasonable period of time.
Conflicts of Law
The district will comply with applicable law in the inspection, amendment, and disclosure of PII and
Education Records. In the event that this policy does not address a provision in applicable state or
federal law, the provisions of such state or federal law will control. In the event that this policy is
inconsistent with or in conflict with applicable state or federal law, the more stringent standard will
apply.
CROSS REFERENCE:
JK, Student Discipline
JS, Student Use of the Internet
4836-1916-7775, v. 2
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