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FERPA

 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Annual Notice of Student Education Record Privacy

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive federal funds. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their child’s education records. When a student reaches the age of 18 or attends a post-secondary school or college, the parent’s rights transfer to the student and the student is then an “eligible student” under the law.

Under FERPA, parents and eligible students have the following rights:

  1. To inspect and review the student’s education records maintained by the school within 45 days of the school’s receipt of written request. The request should identify the records being inspected. The school is not required to provide copies of the records and may charge a fee if copies are requested. The following staff person may be contacted to seek access to your child’s record:
    • Name of Staff: Principal or Assistant Principal or designee of the school, which has your child enrolled.
  2. To request that a school correct records believed to be inaccurate or misleading. The request must be in writing and clearly specify: (a) the part of the record requesting to be changed, and (b) why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to a hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement in the record about the contested information. The school is not required to consider request for grade or disciplinary decisions, opinions of school officials in the education record, or the child’s special education determination. The following staff person may be contacted to request an amendment to your child’s record:
    • Name of Staff: Principal or Assistant Principal of the school, which has your child enrolled:
  3. To control disclosure of their child’s personally identifiable information from their education record. Parents may request that the school, with certain exceptions, obtain their written consent prior to the disclosure of student information. An exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school staff with legitimate educational interests, such as a person employed by the district; a person serving on the school board; a person or company with whom the district has contracted to perform a special task (such as attorney, auditor, or therapist); or a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a grievance or disciplinary committee or assisting another school official; and/or official of another school district in which a student seeks to enroll. A school official has legitimate education interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill a professional responsibility.
  4. To file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the school district to comply with requirements of FERPA at the following address:
    • Family Policy Compliance Office
    • U.S. Department of Education
    • 400 Maryland Avenue SW
    • Washington, DC 20202-4605
  5. Within the System, for students, or parents or guardian of students, the steps of appeal for a solution are:
  1. Any professional employee, immediate supervising teacher, homeroom teacher, counselor, or Student Resource Officer
  2. The school principal
  3. The Director of Schools Office, 397 North Castle Heights Avenue, Lebanon, TN, 37087, (615) 449-6060
  4. The Grievance Review Board
  5. The Board of Education