Student-Teacher Confidentiality
WHAT IS
CONFIDENTIALITY?
The law states that those persons
who have acquired information
from a student in confidence shall
be compelled or allowed without
the consent of the student .. (if the
student is 18 years of age or over),
or without the consent of the
parent or legal guardian (if the
student is under the age of 18
years of age) to disclose that
information
in
any
legal
proceeding, civil or criminal trial
or investigation before any grand,
traverse, or petit jury or any
officer thereof.
CONFIDENTIALITY
A Collaborative Perspective
skills, and others may be seen
individually.
Withholding information from
important people in a student’s
life, such as parents and teachers,
may have some logic; however, it is
doubtful that it improves a
student’s functioning in school or
promotes healthier, more growthful relationships. Having a narrow
view of confidentiality – to the
point where the adherence to this
view interferes with the school’s
ability to successfully work with
the student – inhibits growth.
Implementing a successful program requires information to be
shared with someone – parents,
teachers, and principals, etc. The
stronger the bond between the
student, teacher, core support
staff, or parent, the more the
student will likely improve their
academic and other classroom
demands.
SPECIAL EDUCATORS’
RESPONSIBILITIES
Keep thorough records. The
importance of record keeping
cannot be stressed too much.
Anecdotal records can be crucial in
liability cases. Whenever possible,
records should include the
signatures of witnesses.
The IEP team should address
potential safety risks and plan for
them when appropriate. The IEP
should include actions that will be
taken to minimize these risks. If a
precaution is listed in the IEP, it is
convincing evidence that a school
district has taken precautions to
prevent student injury. If, on the
other hand, procedures listed in
the IEP are not followed and an
injury results, the school’s
negligence can more easily be
proven.
The district’s obligation to ensure
confidentiality of student information
extends
to
school
newspapers and yearbooks. There
is the potential to violate
confidentiality of student rights
and educational records as a result
of special needs or special program
students being identified as such in
those publications.
Sharing
student
information
always needs to be done in a
manner that preserves the dignity
of the student and parent, and the
integrity of the school core
team/student relationship. This
can be accomplished without an
overriding
commitment
to
confidentiality. Programs are developed to improve behavior or
attitude, enhance relationship
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Greenville Public School District
Office of Special Services - Dr. Janice McKinnie Monroe, Director
430 N. MLK Jr. Blvd; GREENVILLE MS 38701
Ph (662) 334-2862
Fax (662) 334-6598
Student-Teacher Confidentiality
ACCESS TO SPECIAL
EDUCATION RECORDS
Special Service directors, social
workers, case managers, office
managers and secretaries, school
psychologists and psychometrists,
special education teachers, speech
pathologists, nurses, instructional
strategists and State Department
personnel are the only ones to
have access to the special
education records of the students
in special services. Each folder has
an access sheet which lists the
people who have viewed the
folder.
TERMINOLOGY
Student records do not include
 Informal notes compiled
by a school officer or
employee which remain in
the sole possession of the
maker, are used only as a
personal memory aid, and
are not accessible or
revealed to any other
person except a substitute
teacher; or
 Records of a law enforcement unit of the district.
Mandatory permanent student
records are those records which
are maintained in perpetuity and
which schools have been directed
to compile by state law, regulation
or administrative directive.
Mandatory
interim
student
records are those records which
the schools are directed to compile
and maintain for stipu-lated
periods of time and are then
destroyed in accordance with state
law, regulation or admini-strative
directive.
Permitted student records are
those records having clear
importance only to the current
educational process of the student.
request to release a copy of any
record.
Disclosure means to permit access
to or the release, transfer, or other
communication of person-ally
identifiable information contained
in education records, to any party,
by any means, including oral,
written, or electronic.
Personally identifiable information includes, but is not limited to,
the student’s name, the name of
the student’s parent/guardian or
other family member, the address
of the student or student’s family,
a personal identifier such as the
student’s photo, social security
number or student number, and a
list of personal characteristics or
other information that would make
the student’s identity easily
traceable.
Adult student is a person who is or
was enrolled in school and who is
at least 18 years of age.
School officials and employees are
officials or employees whose
duties and responsibilities to the
district, whether routine or as a
result of special circumstances,
require that they have access to
student records.
Access
means
a
personal
inspection and review of a record,
an accurate copy of a record, or
receipt of an accurate copy of a
record, an oral description or
communication of a record, and a
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Greenville Public School District
Office of Special Services - Dr. Janice McKinnie Monroe, Director
430 N. MLK Jr. Blvd; GREENVILLE MS 38701
Ph (662) 334-2862
Fax (662) 334-6598