FILE: JR
Cf: IFDA
STUDENT RECORDS
Parents and guardians have the right to inspect and review any school records dealing with their children. Students eighteen (18) years of age or older have the sole right to inspect and review their respective student records. Limited access to student records may also be granted certain school officials and others as outlined in this policy. Any access to, or disclosure and release of student information shall be in accordance with federal and state law and regulations.
DEFINITIONS
Aggregate data shall be defined as, for purposes of this
policy, statistics and other information that relate to broad classes,
groups, or categories from which it is not possible to distinguish
the identities of individuals.
Custodian of student records shall be defined as the
person who has physical custody and control of books, records, or
documents. Generally, this person is the Superintendent
or such person designated as custodian of student records by the Superintendent.
Disclosure shall mean the release, transfer, provision
of, access to, or divulging in any manner, of information outside
the person or entity holding the information.
Educational records shall be defined as records which
are directly related to a student and are maintained by the School
Board or school by a person acting for the School Board or school. Excluded
from the term educational records are records of instructional,
supervisory or administrative personnel which are in the sole possession
of the maker and are not accessible or revealed to any other individual
except a substitute.
Legitimate educational interest shall be defined as the
interest that requires regular access for purposes of adding material,
periodic review, filing new student data and/or removing inadequate,
ambiguous, no longer relevant data; the interest having the educational
wellbeing of the student in mind for purposes of continuing, improving
or changing the education program of the student and the interest
in which the person has a legitimate need to know.
Parent or legal guardian shall mean a student's parent,
legal guardian, or other person or entity responsible for the student.
Personally identifiable information shall be defined as information about an individual that may be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single individual, including but not limited to the following:
Any information that can be used to distinguish or trace
an individual's identity such as social security number, date
and place of birth, mother's maiden name, biometric records, or
race and ethnicity data.
Any other information that is linked or linkable to an individual
such as medical, educational, financial, and employment information.
Two (2) or more pieces of information that separately or when linked together can be used to reasonably ascertain the identity of the person.
School official shall be defined as an administrator, supervisor, principal, support staff, or any person employed by or under contract to the School Board, or authorized volunteer, to perform a function or service on behalf of the School Board.
ANNUAL NOTIFICATION
All parents/guardians shall be notified annually of their rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and applicable state law. Such notification shall be made annually by publication in student handbooks, newsletters, notification to student's home by students, by mail, or publication in the official journal or in such manner as deemed appropriate by the Iberia Parish School Board.
ACCESS TO RECORDS
A person employed in a public school or other person authorized
by the Superintendent may be provided or have access to a student’s
records.
Any person who is authorized by state law or the Superintendent
to access a student’s records on a public school computer system,
except a parent or legal guardian, shall maintain the confidentiality
of any student information to which he/she has access. Failure
to maintain the confidentiality of such information shall be punishable
as provided in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:3914.
Except as provided below, no person or public or private entity
shall access a public school computer system on which student information
is stored. No official or employee of the School Board
shall authorize access to such a computer system to any person or
public or private entity except as authorized below.
The following persons may access a public school computer system on which student information for students at a particular school is stored:
A student who has reached the age of eighteen (18) or is
judicially emancipated or emancipated by marriage and the parent
or legal guardian of a student who is under the age of eighteen
(18) and not emancipated. Such access shall be limited to
information about the student. A student who has reached
the age of eighteen (18) or is emancipated and the parent or legal
guardian of a student who has not reached the age of eighteen
and is not emancipated may authorize, in writing, another person
to access such information.
A teacher of record. Such access shall be limited
to information about his/her current students.
The school principal and school registrar.
A School Board employee employed at the school and designated
by the principal. Such access shall be limited to student
information necessary to perform his/her duties.
A person authorized by the Superintendent to maintain or
repair the computer system or to provide services that the School
Board would otherwise provide.
A person authorized by the state to audit student records.
The following persons may access a computer system of the School Board on which student information for students from throughout the system is stored:
The Superintendent.
A School Board employee designated by the Superintendent. Such
access shall be limited to student information necessary to perform
his/her duties.
A person authorized by the Superintendent to maintain or
repair the computer system or to provide services that the school
system would otherwise provide.
A person authorized by the state to audit student records.
Persons permitted access to a student’s records shall only have
access to those education records in which they have a legitimate
educational interest. Proper administrative regulations
and procedures shall be maintained to ensure compliance with this
provision.
The School Board shall maintain a record of each request for access to the records of each student. The School Board shall maintain a record of all requests for access with the education records of the student, as long as the records are maintained.
DISCLOSURE OF STUDENT INFORMATION
No official or employee of the School Board shall provide personally identifiable student information to any member of the School Board or to any other person or public or private entity, except such an official or employee may, in accordance with applicable state and federal law:
Provide a student's identification number and aggregate data
to the School Board, the Louisiana Department of Education, or BESE
solely for the purpose of satisfying state and federal reporting requirements.
Provide to the Louisiana Department of Education, for the purpose
of satisfying state and federal assessment, auditing, funding, monitoring,
program administration, and state accountability requirements, information
from which enough personally identifiable information has been removed
such that the remaining information does not identify a student and
there is no basis to believe that the information alone can be used
to identify a student. The Louisiana Department of Education
may make further disclosures of personally identifiable information
to outside entities that are designated by them as their authorized
representatives to conduct any audit, evaluation, or enforcement or
compliance activity on their behalf, or as expressly authorized by
statute, if applicable requirements are met.
Provide to the Louisiana Board of Regents, and the office of
student financial assistance, as a program under its jurisdiction,
to be used by staff for required grant program reporting, for the
purposes of providing reports to each public school governing authority
on the postsecondary remediation needs, retention rates, and graduation
rates for each high school under its jurisdiction and for the purpose
of evaluating comparative postsecondary performance outcomes based
upon student transcript data in order to develop policies designed
to improve student academic achievement.
Provide personally identifiable information regarding a particular
student to any person or public or private entity if the sharing of
the particular information with the particular recipient of the information
has been authorized in writing by the parent or legal guardian of
the student, or by a student who has reached the age of legal majority,
or if the information is provided to a person authorized by the state,
including the legislative auditor, to audit processes including student
enrollment counts. Any recipient of such information shall maintain
the confidentiality of such information. Any person who knowingly
and willingly fails to maintain the confidentiality of such information
shall be subject to the penalties provided in La. Rev. Stat Ann. §17:3914.
Provide for the transfer of student information pursuant to the provisions of La. Rev. Stat Ann. §17:112.
A statement shall be provided notifying the student’s parent or legal guardian of exactly what items of student information will be collected and that disclosure of the student information collected shall be restricted to Louisiana postsecondary education institutions to be used for the purposes of processing applications for admission and for compliance with state and federal reporting requirements to the Board of Regents and to the office of student financial assistance, as a program under the board’s jurisdiction, to be used for the purposes of processing applications for admission and for state and federal financial aid, for required grant program reporting, for providing reports to the school governing authority on the postsecondary education remediation needs, retention rates, and graduation rates for each high school under its jurisdiction, and for evaluating comparative postsecondary education performance outcomes based on student transcript data in order to develop policies designed to improve student academic achievement. Annual notification shall be provided to the student's parent or legal guardian as to the right and process used to withdraw consent.
Release of Student Information
In accordance with federal statutory provisions, schools shall
honor the requests of military recruiters for names, addresses and
phone numbers of high school students, unless parents have specified
that such information not be released to such recruiters.
In accordance with La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:112,
the principal of a public elementary or secondary school shall provide
for the transfer of the education records, including special education
records, if applicable, of any current or former student at his/her
school upon the written request of any authorized person on behalf
of a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school, or an educational
facility operated within any correctional or health facility, whether
within or outside the state of Louisiana, where such student has become
enrolled or is seeking enrollment. Under no circumstances
may a school or school district refuse to promptly transfer the records
of any child withdrawing or transferring from the school. Transfer
of records, whether by mail or otherwise, shall occur no later than
ten (10) business days from the date of receipt of a written request.
Student records shall be furnished in compliance with judicial
orders or pursuant to any lawfully issued subpoena if the parents,
legal guardian and students are notified in advance.
A record of all authorizations for release of information shall
be maintained by the School Board and all such authorizations shall
be included in the student’s records.
Once the parent, guardian, or student of majority age has granted
permission for collection of certain data in accordance with La. Rev.
Stat. Ann. §17:3914, such data shall be disclosed
solely for purposes of processing a student’s application for postsecondary
education or receipt of financial aid, and for compliance with state
and federal reporting requirements.
The School Board may disclose personally identifiable information
from student records to appropriate parties, including the parents
of a student 18 years old or older, in connection with an emergency,
if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health
or safety of the student or other individuals.
The School Board and employees may disclose education records or information from education records, without the consent of the parent or guardian of the student who is the subject of the records, to certain law enforcement. Disclosure of such records or information shall be in accordance with the following provisions:
Disclosure of education records or information from education
records shall only be made to state or local law enforcement
officials or to other officials within the juvenile justice system. Verification
of the official's position may need to be made before the disclosure
of records or information.
The disclosure of the education record or information must
relate to the ability of the juvenile justice system to serve,
prior to adjudication, the student whose records or information
is to be disclosed.
The officials to whom the records or the information are
disclosed shall certify in writing that that person, and any agency
or organization with which that person is affiliated, shall keep
the personally identifiable portions of the records or the information
confidential and shall not disclose the personally identifiable
portions of the records or the information to any person, agency,
or organization except a person, agency, or organization within
the juvenile justice system having an independent right to the
information.
Any other provisions necessary to comply with federal law or rules.
INSPECTION OF STUDENT RECORDS BY THE PARENT
Schools shall provide for the review of student records by parents
or guardians, or any student eighteen (18) years of age or older. Parents
and students shall be given notification of their right to review
the student records.
Access to school records shall not be denied to a parent solely because
he/she is not the child’s custodial or domiciliary parent.
The parent or legal guardian of a student shall be provided
access to student records upon written request to the principal maintaining
those records within the school system no more than ten (10) days
after the date of receipt of the request. There shall be
no charge for a parent or legal guardian to receive student records
electronically. If the parent or legal guardian requests
hard copies of the records, a charge for copies as approved by the
School Board shall be assessed per page of records.
The parent, legal guardian or student, if the student is eighteen (18)
or over, shall, upon written request to the principal maintaining
those records, have the opportunity to receive an interpretation of
those records, have the right to question those data, and if a difference
of opinion is noted, shall be permitted to file a letter in said cumulative
folder stating their position. If further challenge is
made to the record, the parent, legal guardian, or student if 18 or
older, may request a hearing.
If, as a result of the hearing, the School Board decides that the information is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of the student, it shall:
Amend the record accordingly; and
Inform the parent or eligible student in writing.
If, as a result of the hearing, the School Board decides that the information in the education record is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of the student, it shall inform the parent or eligible student of the right to place a statement in the record commenting on the contested information in the record or stating why he or she disagrees with the decision of the School Board or both.
The hearing shall be held within a reasonable time after receipt
of the request for the hearing from the parent or eligible student.
The hearing shall be conducted by the Superintendent. At
the hearing the parent or student eighteen (18) or over shall be given
a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to issues
raised. The parent or student may, at his/her own expense,
be assisted or represented by one or more individuals of his or her
own choice, including an attorney.
The Superintendent shall make his/her decision in writing within a
reasonable period of time after the hearing. The decision
must be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing, and
must include a summary of the evidence and the reasons for the decision. The
decision shall be communicated to the school and parent in writing
within ten (10) working days following the date of the hearing.
| Revised: December, 2009 | Revised: January 17, 2018 |
| Revised: July 24, 2013 | Revised: November 14, 2018 |
| Revised: August 19, 2015 | Revised: October 6, 2021 |
Ref: 20 USC 1232(g-i), (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
20 USC 7908, (Armed Forces Recruiter Access to Student Information)
34 CFR 99.1-99.67, (Family Educational Rights and Privacy - Federal Regulations)
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§9:351, 17:81, 17:112, 17:221.3, 17:3914, 44:4, 44:4.1, 44:31, 44:32
La. Civil Code, Art. 131, Art. 134, Art. 250
Louisiana Attorney General Opinion No. 15-0103
Board minutes, 2-1-84, 7-97, 7-24-13, 8-19-15, 1-17-18, 11-14-18, 10-6-21
Iberia Parish School Board