USD 327 Annual FERPA Notice

(First Published in the Ellsworth County Independent/
Reporter, August 8, 2019)

Annual Notification
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students who are 18 years of age or older ("eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student's education records which are kept and maintained by USD 327. In accordance with FERPA, you are required to be notified of those rights, which include:
1. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days after the day USD 327 receives a request for access. Parents or eligible students should submit to the school principal a written request that identifies the records they wish to inspect. The principal will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
2. The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA. Parents or eligible students who wish to ask USD 327 to amend a record should write the school principal, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the school decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the school will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment.
Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible student when notified of the right to a hearing.
3. The right to provide written consent before the school discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the school as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel) or a person serving on the school board. A school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the school who performs an institutional service of function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist; a parent or student volunteering to serve on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee; or a parent, student, or other volunteer 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 in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by USD 327 to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is: Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202.
5. The right to obtain a copy of USD 327’s policies for complying with FERPA. A copy may be obtained from Mr. Dale Brungardt, Superintendent, PO Box 306, Ellsworth, Kansas 67439, (785) 472-5561.
Directory Information: For purposes of FERPA, USD 327 has designated certain information contained in educational records as directory information which may be disclosed for any purpose without your consent. The following information is considered directory information: name, address, phone number, email address, date and place of birth, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, grade level, degrees and awards received, the most recent previous school attended by the student, class designation, student ID number used to communicate in electronic systems that cannot be used to access education records without a PIN, password, etc., major field of study and photographs.
You have a right to refuse to permit the designation of any or all of the above information as directory information. If you refuse, you must file written notification to this effect with USD 327 at P.O. Box 306, Ellsworth, Kansas 67439 on or before August 23, 2019, and/or five days after a student has enrolled. If a refusal is not filed, USD 327 assumes you have no objection to the release of the directory information designated.
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