8330 - STUDENT RECORDS

School Board of Alachua County

Bylaws & Policies

8330 - STUDENT RECORDS

In order to provide appropriate educational services and programming, the Board must collect, retain, and use information about individual students. Simultaneously, the Board recognizes the need to safeguard students' privacy and restrict access to students' personally identifiable information. All material in each permanent cumulative educational record shall be confidential, in accordance with the law and this policy.

Definitions

"Parent" means a parent of a student and includes a natural parent, a guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a parent or guardian. (34 C.F.R. 99.3)

"Eligible student" means a student who has reached eighteen (18) years of age or is attending an institution of postsecondary education. (34 C.F.R. 99.3)

Maintenance of Student Records

The Board is responsible for the records of all students who attend or have attended schools in this District. Only records mandated by the State or Federal government and necessary and relevant to the function of the District or specifically permitted by this Board shall be compiled by Board employees.

Each school shall maintain a permanent cumulative record for each student enrolled in the school which shall contain the data as prescribed by F.A.C. 6A-1.0955. Each student's cumulative record shall include the following types of data:

A.	Category A Records, Permanent Information

	1.	Student's full legal name.

	2.	Authenticated birth date, place of birth, race, ethnicity and sex.

	3.	Last known address of the student.

	4.	Name(s) of the student's parent(s) or guardian(s).


	5.	Name and location of last school attended.

	6.	Number of days present and absent, date enrolled and date withdrawn.

	7.	Courses taken and record of achievement, such as grades, units, or certification of competence.

	8.	Date of graduation or date of program completion, including a statement of diploma (i.e., standard, special, certificate of completion, or General Equivalency Diploma).

	9.	State and/or District standardized assessment/achievement test results, if required for graduation.

	10.	Records of requests for access to and disclosure of personally identifiable information from the student's records.

	11.	Home language survey.

B.	Category B Records, Temporary Information

	1.	Health information, family background data, standardized test scores, educational and vocational plans, honors and activities, work experience reports, teacher/counselor comments.

	2.	Reports of student services or exceptional student staffing committees including all information required by F.S. 1001.42.

	3.	Correspondence from community agencies or private professionals.

	4.	Driver education certificate.

	5.	A list of schools attended.

	6.	Written agreements of corrections, deletions, or expunctions as a result of meetings or hearings to amend educational records.

	7.	Written requests to waive access to confidential records.


	8.	Written requests to restrict the release of directory information.

	9.	Court orders of relevance.

	10.	Records of major student discipline actions, suspension, and/or expulsion records.

	11.	Student Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plans.

	12.	Such other records of educational importance as the school shall deem necessary.

Category A and B records shall be maintained in compliance with the approved District records retention schedule.

Individual exceptional student records shall be kept separate from regular cumulative records. These records shall be sent to each succeeding school the student attends in the District and shall be maintained in accordance with the approved District records retention plan.

No report or record relative to a student which includes a copy of the student's fingerprints will be maintained by the District.

Periodic review for elimination of outdated information in student records by the custodian or designees shall be made in accordance with F.S. 1001.52, and the approved District records retention plan. Such review shall be made on a regular basis. The custodian of the student records shall be responsible for maintaining the accuracy of information. All records of expulsions, except final orders, will be expunged by the custodian of the record upon graduation of the student, unless an outstanding request to inspect and review the record has been made. Explanations placed in the education record and the record of access shall be maintained for as long as the education record to which it pertains is maintained. This procedure must be implemented before records are released to any vocational-technical centers, community colleges, or institutions of higher learning in which the student seeks or intends to enroll.

The Superintendent is authorized to use the microfilm process or electromagnetic processes of reproduction for the recording, filing, maintaining, and preserving of records, as provided by law.

The following types of student records are maintained by the District:

Type of Record	Location	Custodian	Address

Active and inactive student records as specified in the current Student Records Manual for the District	Last school attended	Principal of last school attended	As shown in local directory

Inactive student cumulative records (Category A) as specified in the current Student Records Manual for the District	Central District office	Superintendent or designee	Student Records Department

Individual exceptional student education records as specified in the current Student Records Manual for the District	Last school attended	Principal of last school attended	As shown in the local directory

Individual student psychological records as specified in the current Student Records Manual for the District	Last school attended	Principal of last school attended	As shown in the local directory

Security of Education Records

The school principal or designee is responsible for the privacy and security of all student records maintained in the school. The Superintendent is responsible for the privacy and security of student records that are not under the supervision of a school principal.

Rights of Parents and Eligible Students

The rights of students and their parents with respect to education records created, maintained, or used by the District shall be protected in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the implementing regulations issued pursuant thereto. Eligible students and parents/guardians have the right:

	A.	to access their education records, including the right to inspect and review those records;

	B.	to waive their access to their education records in certain circumstances;

	C.	to challenge the content of education records;

	D.	of privacy with respect to such records and reports; and

	E.	to receive notice of their rights with respect to education records.

Right of Access

The custodian of the student record shall permit the eligible student and the parents/guardians of a student who is or has been in attendance in the District to inspect and review the education records of the eligible student or student. Provisions for such inspection and review shall be made within a reasonable period of time of the request, but in no case shall be more than thirty (30) days after the request has been made. (34 C.F.R. 99.10; F.A.C. 6A-1.0955(6))

	A.	When a student becomes an eligible student, the rights accorded to, and consent required of, parents, shall thereafter be accorded to and required of the eligible student only, unless the eligible student is a dependent of his/her parents as defined in Title 26 U.S.C. Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. The Board may, in that instance, disclose personally identifiable information from the education records to the parent/guardian, without the prior consent of the eligible student.

	B.	The District will presume that the eligible student or either parent of the student has the right to inspect, review, and receive copies of the education records of the student or eligible student unless the Board, its staff, or the individual school has been provided a legally binding instrument or court order governing such matters as divorce, separation, or custody which provides to the contrary.


C.	When records are opened to parents, guardians, or eligible students, schools shall make available a member of the professional staff to interpret the record and shall provide copies, at the current District copy rate, upon request. The copy rate will include actual reproduction costs and will not include the labor costs for retrieval.

D.	In addition to students and their parents and eligible students, student records shall be available only to designated school officials and personnel, to such other persons as the parent or eligible student authorizes in writing, a court of competent jurisdiction or to other individuals or organizations as permitted by law.

E.	Schools may, without consent of parents, guardians, or eligible students, provide access to school officials who have a legitimate educational interest.

	The following persons in this District are "school officials":

	1.	Board members and the Superintendent;

	2.	instructional and administrative personnel as defined by Florida statutes;

	3.	persons employed by the Board as temporary substitutes for administrative or instructional personnel;

	4.	persons employed by or under contract to the Board to perform a special task such as a secretary, clerk, attorney, or auditor.

	A "legitimate educational interest" is the person's need to know in order to:

	1.	perform an administrative or clerical task required in the school official's position description approved by the Board;

	2.	perform a supervisory or instructional task directly related to the student's education; or

	3.	perform a service or benefit for the student or the student's family such as, but not limited to, health care, counseling, student job placement, or student financial aid.


	F.	Support employees may be designated by the principal for the purpose of doing clerical work and maintaining student records. However, such persons shall receive in-service training concerning the confidentiality of student records and work under the supervision and control of an administrative staff member.

	G.	Whenever parental consent is required for the inspection and/or release of a student's health or educational records, either parent may provide such consent unless agreed to otherwise in writing by both parents or specifically stated by court order. If the student is under the guardianship of an institution, the Superintendent shall appoint a person who has no conflicting interest to provide such written consent.

Right of Waiver of Access

Parents, guardians, and eligible student may waive their right to confidential letters or statements of recommendation or evaluation. Such waiver shall be made in writing to the custodian of the records and shall be signed by the parent, guardian, or eligible student. Such waiver shall apply to recommendations or evaluation only if:

	A.	the parent, guardian, or eligible student is, upon request, notified of the names of all persons submitting confidential letters or statements; and

	B.	such recommendations or evaluations are used solely for the purpose for which they were specifically intended.

The waiver of right of access may be revoked in writing with respect to actions occurring after the revocation.

Right to Challenge

School officials shall provide requesting parents, guardians, or eligible students an opportunity for a hearing to challenge the content of their child's or the eligible student's school records, to ensure that the records are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy of the student, and to provide an opportunity for the correction or deletion of any such inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate data contained therein. (20 U.S.C. 1232g(a)(2); 34 C.F.R. 99.21)

A.	Informal Meeting - Whenever a parent, guardian, or eligible student believes the content of the student record is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of privacy, s/he may request an informal meeting with the custodian of the record for the purpose of requesting the correction, deletion, or expunction of any inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate data or material contained in the student record.

	If the parties at the informal meeting agree to make deletions, to expunge material, or to add a statement of explanation or rebuttal to the file, such agreement shall be reduced to writing and signed by the parties, and the appropriate school officials shall take the necessary actions to implement the agreement. If the agreement is not reached, denial of the request and notification of the right to a formal hearing shall be made in writing to the parent, guardian, or eligible student with a copy to the Superintendent or designee.

B.	Formal Hearing - Upon the request of either party, a formal hearing shall be held. Such hearing shall be requested, in writing, within ten (10) days of the written notice of denial from the informal meeting, to the Superintendent or designee, who shall appoint a hearing officer who shall be any official of the school system with no direct interest in the outcome of the hearing.

	1.	The hearing officer shall convene and conduct the hearing within a reasonable period of time, but in no case shall be held more than thirty (30) days from the date of the written request. The hearing officer shall render a decision in writing to all concerned parties within ten (10) days from the conclusion of the hearing.


	2.	The parents, guardian, eligible student, student, and officials of the school shall be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to the issues raised. The hearing shall be recorded and available to all parties.

	3.	If the decision from the hearing officer is that the records are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights, the parent, guardian, or eligible student shall be allowed to comment in writing on the information in the education record and set forth any reasons for disagreeing with the decision. This written response shall be filed in the education records of the student.

Disclosure of Student Record Information

A.	Prior Written Consent

	Prior written consent of the parent, guardian, or eligible student shall be obtained before disclosing personally identifiable student information other than directory information. The written consent shall include: signature of the parent, guardian, or eligible student; date; specification of records or information to be disclosed; purpose of the disclosure; and the party or class of parties to whom a disclosure is to be made.

	1.	The District presumes the parent, guardian, or eligible student has the authority to grant permission for disclosure of personally identifiable student information, unless the District has been provided with evidence that there is a legally binding instrument or State law or court order governing such matters as divorce, separation, or custody which provides to the contrary.

	2.	Disclosures of personally identifiable student information will be made only on the condition that the party or parties to whom the information is disclosed shall not disclose the information to any other party without prior written consent of the parent, guardian, or eligible student, as appropriate. Personally identifiable student information which is disclosed to an institution, agency, or organization may be used by its officers, employees, and agents, but only for the purpose for which the disclosure was made.


B.	Without Prior Written Consent

	Personally identifiable records or reports of a student may be released to the following persons or organizations without the prior written consent of the student or the student's parent or guardian:

	1.	Officials of schools, school systems, career centers, or public postsecondary educational institutions in which the student seeks or intends to enroll. A copy of such records or reports shall be furnished to the parent or student upon request.

	2.	Other school officials, including teachers within the educational institution or agency, who have legitimate educational interests in the information contained in the records.

	3.	The United States Secretary of Education, the Director of the National Institute of Education, the Assistant Secretary for Education, the Comptroller General of the United States, or State or local educational authorities who are authorized to receive such information subject to the conditions set forth in applicable Federal statutes and regulations of the United States Department of Education, or in applicable State statutes and rules of the State Board of Education.

	4.	Other school officials, in connection with a student's application for or receipt of financial aid.

	5.	Individuals or organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of an institution or a board of education for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, or improving instruction, if the studies are conducted in a manner that does not permit the personal identification of students and their parents by persons other than representatives of such organizations and if the information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose of conducting such studies.

	6.	Accrediting organizations, in order to carry out their accrediting functions.


	7.	School Readiness Coalitions and the Florida Partnership for School Readiness, in order to carry out their assigned duties.

	8.	For use as evidence in student expulsion hearings conducted by a district school board under F.S. Chapter 120; however, public records of expulsion hearings shall not contain any personally identifiable information.

	9.	Appropriate parties in connection with an emergency, if knowledge of the information in the student's educational records is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.

	10.	The Auditor General and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability in connection with their official functions; however, except when the collection of personally identifiable information is specifically authorized by law, any data collected by the Auditor General and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability is confidential and exempt from F.S. 119.07 (1) and shall be protected in a way that does not permit the personal identification of students and their parents by other than the Auditor General, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, and their staff, and the personally identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer needed for the Auditor General's and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability's official use.

	11.	A court of competent jurisdiction in compliance with an order of that court or the attorney of record in accordance with a lawfully issued subpoena, upon the condition that the student and the student's parent are notified of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance therewith by the educational institution or agency.


	12.	A person or entity in compliance with an order of a court of competent jurisdiction or the attorney of record pursuant to a lawfully issued subpoena, upon the condition that the student, or his/her parent if the student is either a minor and not attending a postsecondary educational institution or a dependent of such parent as defined in 26 U.S.C. 152 (Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954), is notified of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance therewith by the educational institution or agency.

	13.	Credit bureaus, in connection with an agreement for financial aid that the student has executed, if the information is disclosed only to the extent necessary to enforce the terms or conditions of the financial aid agreement. Credit bureaus shall not release any information obtained under this paragraph to any person.

	14.	Parties to an interagency agreement among the Department of Juvenile Justice, school and law enforcement authorities, and other signatory agencies for the purpose of reducing juvenile crime and especially motor vehicle theft by promoting cooperation and collaboration, and the sharing of appropriate information in a joint effort to improve school safety, to reduce truancy and in-school and out-of-school suspensions, and to support alternatives to in-school and out-of-school suspensions and expulsions that provide structured and well-supervised educational programs supplemented by a coordinated overlay of other appropriate services designed to correct behaviors that lead to truancy, suspensions, and expulsions, and that support students in successfully completing their education.

		Information provided in furtherance of such interagency agreements is intended solely for use in determining the appropriate programs and services for each juvenile or the juvenile's family, or for coordinating the delivery of such programs and services, and as such is inadmissible in any court proceedings prior to a dispositional hearing unless written consent is provided by a parent or other responsible adult on behalf of the juvenile.


	15.	Consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the Department of Children and Family Services or a community-based care lead agency acting on behalf of the Department of Children and Family Services, as appropriate.

	16.	Parents of a dependent student as defined by the Internal Revenue Service Tax Code of 1986 and in this policy.

	17.	If the District initiates legal action (a lawsuit) against a parent, or if the parent initiates legal action against the District. In such circumstances, the District may disclose to the court, without a court order or subpoena, the education records of the student that are relevant for the District to proceed with legal action as the plaintiff or to defend itself.

	18.	If the release is to the Attorney General of the United States or to his/her designee in response to an ex parte order in connection with the investigation or prosecution of terrorism crimes specific in Sections 2331 and 2332 of Title 18, U.S. Code.

		Under this exception, school officials are not required to record (i.e., on an access log) the disclosure of information from a student's education record when the school makes pursuant to an ex parte.

		Further, an educational institution that, in good faith, produces information from education records in compliance with an ex parte order shall not be liable to any person for that disclosure.

C.	Record of Disclosures

	A record of any requests or disclosures of personally identifiable student information shall be maintained, except for disclosures to the parent, guardian, or eligible student; disclosure of directory information; or disclosure to other school officials with a legitimate educational interest. The record of requests for disclosure shall include the following: the parties who have requested or obtained personally identifiable student information, the legitimate interests of the persons requesting or obtaining the information, and date parental/eligible student consent was obtained.


D.	Disclosures - Health or Safety Emergencies

	A school official may make a needed disclosure from student education records in a health or safety emergency if:

	1.	the official deems it is warranted by the seriousness of the threat to the health or safety of the student or other persons;

	2.	the information is necessary to meet the emergency;

	3.	the persons to whom the information is to be disclosed are qualified and in a position to deal with the emergency; and

	4.	time is an important and limiting factor in dealing with the emergency.

Directory Information

The Board designates as student "directory information":

	A.	student's name;

	B.	student's address;

	C.	student's telephone number, if it is a listed number; the school will presume that the telephone number is a listed number unless the parent or student notifies the school in writing that it is unlisted.

	D.	major field of study;

	E.	date and place of birth;

	F.	school photographs;

	G.	dates of attendance;

	H.	participation in officially recognized activities and sports;

	I.	degrees, honors, and awards received;

	J.	weight/height of members of athletic teams;


	K.	date of graduation or program completion; and

	L.	most recent previous educational agency or institution attended.

Directory information shall not be provided to any organization for profit-making purposes, unless the request is approved, in a nondiscriminatory manner, by the Superintendent.

Directory information pertaining to a student may be disclosed by the Superintendent for any purpose in his/her discretion, without consent of a parent or an eligible student. Directory information relating to the student body in general or a portion thereof may be published in school directories; otherwise, such information may only be released to:

	A.	individuals, agencies and organizations listed under "B. Without Prior Written Consent" above; and

	B.	other organizations with which the Board has a programmatic and contractual relationship.

A parent/guardian or eligible student has the right to refuse to permit the designation of any or all of the above items as directory information. A parent or student who chooses to have any or all of the designated directory information not disclosed must file annual written notification at the school's office within thirty (30) calendar days after the beginning of school or within thirty (30) calendar days after admission, whichever is later. If such notification is given, the items of information listed above will not be disclosed except with the consent of a parent/guardian or eligible student, or as otherwise provided by law. If such written notification is not given, the Board will assume that neither a parent/guardian of the student nor the eligible student objects to the release of the designated directory information.

Annual Written Notice

An annual written notice shall be given to inform parents, guardians, and eligible students of their rights of access, waiver of access, challenge and hearing, privacy, categories of personally identifiable student information designated as directory information data, and the location and availability of the District's policy on education records of students. Alternate methods of notice shall be made for parents, guardians, or eligible students unable to comprehend a written notice in English. Parents or eligible students may, by providing a written statement to the principal within thirty (30) calendar days of the first day of the school year or entry into the school system request that all specific portions of directory information for that specific student not be released.

Release to U.S. Armed Forces Recruiters

In accordance with Federal law, the District shall release the names and addresses of students in grades ten through twelve (10-12) to a recruiting officer for any branch of the United States Armed Forces or an institution of higher education who request such information. The recruiting officer is to sign a form indicating that "any information received by the recruiting officer shall be used solely for the purpose of informing students about military service and shall not be released to any person other than individuals within the recruiting services of the Armed Forces". The Superintendent is authorized to charge mailing fees for providing this information to a recruiting officer. A secondary school student or parent of the student may request that the student's name, address, and telephone listing not be released without parental consent.

Transfer of Student Records

When a student, previously enrolled in the District, transfers out of the District to another school, public or private, within this State or out of State, the principal, upon written request of the principal of the receiving school, the parent, guardian, or eligible student, shall immediately transfer a copy of the student's cumulative record containing Category A and B information to the requesting school. Pursuant to Federal law, disciplinary records with respect to suspension and expulsion shall be considered "other records of educational importance" and, as a Category B record, shall be transferred to the requesting school.

	A.	The Board authorizes the administration to forward all Category A and B student records, including disciplinary records with respect to any current suspension and expulsion, upon request to a school or school district in which a student of this District is enrolled, seeks or intends to enroll, or is instructed to enroll, on a full-time or part-time basis, upon condition that the student's parents be notified of the transfer, receive a copy of the record if desired, and have an opportunity for a hearing to challenge the content of the record.

	B.	While all reasonable efforts shall be made to collect for damaged or lost library books or textbooks, under no conditions shall the transfer of a student's cumulative record be delayed or denied for failure to pay any fine or fee assessed by the school. Progress reports to parents (report cards) may not be withheld for failure to pay any fine, fee, or an assessment for lost or damaged books.

Administrative Procedures

The Superintendent shall prepare administrative procedures to ensure that students and parents are adequately informed each year regarding their rights under this policy. The Superintendent shall also develop, and update as needed, procedures for:

	A.	the proper storage and retention of records, including a list of the types and location of records;

	B.	informing District employees of the Federal and State laws concerning student records.

F.S. 1001.41, 1001.42, 1001.43(8), 1001.52, 1002.22, 1002.221, 1003.21, 1003.25
F.A.C. 6A-1.0955
20 U.S.C. Section 1232g through 1232h (FERPA)
20 U.S.C. 7908
26 U.S.C. 152
20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., Individuals with Disabilities Act
Privacy Rights of Parents and Students - P.L. 90-247
34 C.F.R. Part 99
34 C.F.R. 300.613

Adopted 7/17/07
Revised 7/17/12