Skip To Main Content

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA provides the following rights to parents of students enrolled in district schools (these rights transfer from the parent to the student once he/she turns 18 or is attending college):

  1. You may inspect and review your child’s education records, by contacting the school principal, who will arrange for you to inspect them within 45 days. You may obtain a copy of any record by giving the principal a request that specifically identifies the record you want copied. The copies will be made within a reasonable time after your request is received; you may be charged .25 cents per page for the copies.
  2. You may seek amendment of your child’s records if you believe they are inaccurate or in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights, by contacting the district records access officer. You should tell the officer what specific portions of your child’s records you believe are inaccurate, misleading or a violation of privacy rights, and how you want them amended. If the officer determines that the record should not be amended, you have the right to a hearing to review that determination; the process for requesting a hearing will be explained to you at the time of the officer’s determination.
  3. The district cannot generally disclose personally identifiable information contained in your child’s records to anyone outside the district without your consent. The district will disclose your child’s records to school officials only if they are providing educational services to your child, or otherwise need access to the information in those records in order to perform the work of the district. School officials include: administrators, teachers, and support staff employed by the district; Board of Education members; a parent or student serving on a district body such as the Committee on Special Education or the Student Senate; or any individual or company such as a law firm, medical consultant or specialist which contracts to provide services to the district or its students. The district will forward your child’s records to other educational agencies or institutions, including other school districts, in which your child seeks or intends to enroll, or from which your child is receiving services, upon the request of the agency or institution. You may request a copy of any record which has been sent to such an agency or institution, and you may seek amendment of any such record as described in Section 2 of this Notice.
  4. If you believe the school district has not complied fully with FERPA or its regulations, you may file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, Washington D.C., 20202-4605. Procedures for filing this complaint can be obtained from the Records Access Officer.
  5. You have the right to object to release of information concerning your child to military recruiters or institutions of higher education. Federal Law requires the district to give the name, address and telephone number of each high school student to these organizations on request. If you object to this, you should inform the High School Counseling & Career Center and request a form to fill out, on or before September 15 in any school year. The district releases the names of those who have not opted out in October of each year.

Contact

Bradley Strait
Director of Special Education and Intervention Services
straitb@bpcsd.org
518-954-2727