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Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student information records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents, guardians, or students over the age of 18, certain rights with respect to the student’s education records.

  • Parents/Guardians have the right to inspect and review the student’s education record maintained by the school within 45 days of the request.

  • Parents/Guardians have the right to request that a school correct records that they believe to be inaccurate or misleading or otherwise in violation of a student’s privacy rights.


To request a copy of your student's record, or if you believe the information in the student's record is misleading and want to request an amendment, contact Jissely Soto at Jissely.Soto@motsd.org.  To request an amendment, provide in writing the specific part of the record you would like changed and why it is inaccurate/misleading. You will be notified of the decision. If the record is not amended, you have the right to request a hearing and additional information regarding hearing procedures will be provided.

In general, schools must have written permission from a parent/guardian to release personally identifiable information from a student’s record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties under the following conditions:
 
  • School officials with legitimate educational interest*
  • Other schools to which the student is transferring
  • Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
  • Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student
  • Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school
  • Accrediting organizations
  • To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena
  • Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
  • State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

*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); a person serving on the Board; a person or company with whom the School has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist). A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill their professional responsibility.
Schools may also disclose, without consent, “directory” information that includes: 
 
  • Student name
  • Grade
  • School/Homeroom
  • Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
  • Weight and height of members of athletic teams
  • Parent/guardian name
  • Address
  • Telephone listing
  • Electronic mail address
  • Photograph
  • Honors and awards received
  • Date of birth
  • Dates of attendance
The primary purpose of directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, is to allow the district to include this type of information in certain school publications. Examples include:
 
  • A playbill or concert program showing your student's role or listing your student's name
  • The annual yearbook
  • Honor roll or other recognition lists
  • Graduation or "move up" programs
  • Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing the weight and height of team members.

 

ferpa

To “opt out” of the school directory and require written consent to provide information or if you have questions, contact Jissely Soto at Jissely.Soto@motsd.org. 


For more information or to file a complaint, visit/contact:

U.S. Department of Education - Protecting Student Privacy

Family Policy Compliance Officer
U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC  20202-5920