FERPA

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA provides parents and students over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain rights regarding students’ education records, including:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day ALDCA receives an access request. To request an inspection and review, the parent or eligible student should submit a written request to the academic administrator that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The academic administrator makes access arrangements and notifies the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
2. The right to request an amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes is inaccurate. Parents or eligible students may ask ALDCA to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write to the academic administrator and clearly identify the part of the record they want changed and specify why it is inaccurate. If ALDCA decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, ALDCA notifies the parent or eligible student of the decision and advises them of the right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures is provided to the parent or eligible student when notified of the right to a hearing.
3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA allows disclosure without consent. One exception that permits ALDCA to disclose information without consent is when ALDCA discloses information to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by or contracted to provide services to or designated by the contractor to provide services to ALDCA as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel); a person serving on the board of directors of the school; a person or company with whom ALDCA has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist); or a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill their professional responsibility. Upon request, ALDCA discloses education records without consent to officials of another school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. 
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by ALDCA to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The Office that administers FERPA is:
   Family Policy Compliance Office 
   U.S. Department of Education 
   400 Maryland Ave., SW 
   Washington, DC 20202-4605
5. FERPA requires that ALDCA with certain exceptions, obtain a parent’s or eligible student’s written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from a child’s education records. However, ALDCA may disclose “directory information” without written consent, unless the parent or eligible student has advised ALDCA in writing that he/she does not want all or part of the directory information disclosed. The method for objecting to disclosure of directory information is specified below. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow ALDCA to include the following information from education records in certain school publications or disclose it to certain parties. Examples include:
   ⦁ Shipment of computer and school materials to and from student’s home
   ⦁ Entry of student enrollment information into a computer database for use by school officials 
   ⦁ Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing the weight and height of team members
6. FERPA permits the disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from students’ education records, without consent of the parent or eligible student, if the disclosure meets certain conditions found in § 99.31 of the FERPA regulations. Except for disclosures to school officials, disclosures related to some judicial orders or lawfully issued subpoenas, disclosures of directory information and disclosures to the parent or eligible student, §99.32 of the FERPA regulations require the school to record the disclosure. Parents and eligible students have a right to inspect and review the record of disclosures. A school may disclose PII from the education records of a student without obtaining prior written consent of the parents or the eligible student:
   ⦁ To other school officials, including teachers, within the educational agency or institution whom the school has determined to have legitimate educational interests. This includes contractors, consultants, volunteers or other parties to whom ALDCA has outsourced institutional services or functions, provided that the conditions listed in §99.31(a)(1)(i)(B(l)-(a)(1)(i)(B)(3) are met. [§ 99. 31(a)(1)]; and/or
   ⦁ 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 if the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer, subject to the requirements of § 99.34. [§ 99.31(a)(2)].