RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S. C. P 1232g;34 CRF  Part 99)  requires the school system to give notice to parents (includes natural parents, a guardian(s), or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a parent or guardian) and eligible students (students 18 years of age or older or who attends an institution of post secondary education) in a manner that is reasonably likely to inform the parents and eligible students of their rights under this act. FERPA does not require school systems to inform parents of their rights on an individual basis.

FERPA guarantees parents and eligible students the following rights;

The notice must contain all information required by federal law and regulations including the following:

1. the right to inspect and review the student’s educational records and the procedure for exercising this right;

2. the right to request amendment of the student’s educational records that the parent or eligible student believes to be inaccurate, misleading or in violation of the student’s privacy rights; and the procedure for exercising this right;

3. the right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent;

4. the type of information designated as directory information and the right to opt out of release of directory information;

5. that the school system releases records to other institutions that have requested the information and in

which the student seeks or intends to enroll;

6.the right to opt out of releasing the student’s name, address and phone number to military recruiters or institutions of higher education that request such information;

7. a specification of the criteria for determining who constitutes a school official and what constitutes a legitimate educational interest if a school official discloses or intends to disclose personally identifiable information to school officials without consent;

8. notification if the school system uses contractors, consultants, volunteers or similar persons as school officials to perform certain school system services and functions that it would otherwise perform itself; and

9. the right to file complaints with the Family Policy Compliance Office in the U.S. Department of Education.

School officials are not required to individually notify parents or eligible students of their rights but must provide the notice in a manner reasonably likely to inform the parents and eligible students of their rights. Effective notice must be provided to parents or eligible students with disabilities or those whose primary or home language is not English.

For a complete explanation of your rights under FERPA go to Richmond County Schools’ Internet webpage at: www.richmond.k12.nc.us, Policies and Plans, The Richmond County Board of Education Policy Manual, Chapter 4000, Policy 4700.