Curriculum and Instruction

FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)
And RELEASE OF RECORDS TO OTHERS (Policy 4700)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that governs the maintenance and release of student records.  Under this law, parents of students or students (if they are at least 18 years of age) have both the right to inspect records kept by the school about the student and the right to correct the inaccuracies in the records.  

Federal law requires that Dare County Schools, with certain exceptions, obtain written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from any student’s education records.  Student records will be released promptly when a student transfers to another school and in other circumstances specifically required or permitted by law.  Federal laws require local education agencies that receive assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to provide military recruiters or institutions of higher education, upon request, with three directory information categories – names, addresses and telephone listings – unless parents have advised the school system that they do not want their secondary student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent.  In addition, Dare County Schools may make public appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless a parent, guardian or student (age 18 or older) notifies school officials in writing of objection to the disclosure.  

If you do not want Dare County Schools to disclose directory information from your child’s education records without your prior written consent, you must notify school officials in writing.  In School Board Policy 4700, Dare County Schools has designated the following information as directory information:

• Student’s name
• Address
• Telephone listing
• Electronic Mail 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
• Diplomas, certifications and awards received
• Most recent previous school or educational institution attended by the student
• Pictures or videos taken on buses, school grounds, in school buildings and at school activities unless the picture or video may reveal confidential or embarrassing information about a student
• Eligibility for driver’s license or permit under North Carolina General Statutes 20-11(n) and 20-13.2(cl).

Parents also have the right to withhold consent for their child to participate in certain curricular, counseling and information-gathering activities that are detailed in School Board Policy 4002.

Copies of all policies may be found in the office of the Superintendent, on the school system’s web site, and in the Principal’s office of each school within the Dare County School system.

Complaints about failures of the Dare County Schools to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act may be made, in writing, to FERPA Office, Federal Building Number 6, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202.

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) gives parents and students who are 18 or older or emancipated minors (“eligible students”) certain rights regarding the school district’s conduct of surveys, collection and use of information for marketing purposes, and conduct of certain physical exams.  These include the right to:

1. Consent to federally funded surveys concerning “protected information.”  If the U.S. Department of Education funds a survey in whole or in part, a student’s parents or an eligible student must consent in writing before the student may provide information relating to the following categories:

• Political affiliations;
• Mental or psychological problems of the student or student’s family;
• Sexual behavior or attitudes;
• Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
• Critical appraisals of student’s family members;
• Privileged or similar relationships recognized by law, such as with attorneys, doctors, and ministers;
• Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parents; or
• Income other than that required by law to determine program eligibility.
• A survey that concerns any of these points is called a “protected information survey.”

2. Opt out of certain surveys or exams. Parents and eligible students will receive notice of any of the following activities and will have the right to opt out of them:

• Activities involving collection, disclosure, or use of personal information obtained from students for purposes of marketing or selling or otherwise distributing the information to others;
• Any protected information survey, regardless of funding; and
• Any nonemergency, invasive physical exam or screening required as a condition of attendance, administered by the school or its agent and scheduled by the school, and not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of a student or of another student, except for hearing, vision, or scoliosis screenings, or any physical exam or screening permitted or required under state law.

3. Inspect certain material. Parents and eligible students have the right to inspect the following, upon request, before the district administers or uses them:

• Protected information surveys of students (including any instructional materials used in connection with the survey);
• Documents used to collect personal information from students for any of the above marketing, sales, or other distribution purposes; and Instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum.

4. Receive notification of district policy.  The School District has developed a policy, in consultation with parents, regarding these rights, and has made arrangements to protect student privacy in the administration of protected information surveys and the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information for marketing, sales, or other distribution purposes.  Dare County Schools will directly notify parents and eligible students of this policy at least annually at the start of each school year and after any substantive changes are made.

5. Report violations. Parents and eligible students who believe their rights have been violated may file a complaint with:

Student Privacy Policy Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20202-4605

Federal law protects the educational rights of students experiencing homelessness and requires school districts to disseminate public notice of these rights where children and youth receive services.  
Who is homeless?
The law defines homelessness very broadly.  The term “homeless children and youth”    
means individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, and 
includes
children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
migratory children who qualify as homeless because the children are living in circumstances described above.
Students in homeless situations have the right to:
Go to school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there.
Get help enrolling and succeeding in school from the school district’s liaison for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.  Every school district must have a liaison and the central office can put families in touch with the liaison.  Liaisons have a special responsibility to help youth who are on their own.
Stay in the school they went to before becoming homeless or whatever school they were enrolled in last (called “school of origin”), even if they move out of the district, if that is feasible.  Students can stay in their school of origin the entire time they are homeless.  Students can also finish the school year in their school if they find permanent housing during the year.
Get transportation to their school of origin, provided or arranged by the school district, or a joint effort among school districts.
Go to the local school in the area where they are living.  The school must immediately let students enroll, attend classes, and participate fully in school activities, even if students do not have a parent or guardian with them or documents such as proof of residence, immunization records, other medical records, school records, or other documents.  Once students are enrolled, the school must get records from the last school, and the liaison must help students get immunizations or immunization and medical records.
Get a written explanation from the school district if the district refuses to send students to the school they choose, and have the liaison settle such disagreements.
Have disagreements settled quickly and go to the school they choose while disagreements are settled.
Get preschool services, free or reduced school meals, services for English language learners, special education, Title I services, vocational/technical education, gifted and talented services, and before- and after-school care, as needed.
Go to school with children who are not homeless.  Students cannot be separated from the regular school program because they are homeless.
Get information and referrals from liaisons including information about all available educational programs and how parents can participate, public notice about their rights, and referral to health, mental health, dental and other services.
Have the opportunity to meet the same high academic achievement standards as all students.