ANNUAL NOTICE TO STUDENTS & PARENTS
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student’s education records. They are:
1) The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the school division receives a request for access.
Content of Records: An education record is maintained for each student attending the Middlesex County Public Schools and is kept in the school at which the student is enrolled. These records contain identifying data pertaining to the student, such as name, birth date, social security number (if available), address, citizenship status (if other than United States), scholastic work completed (level of achievement and grades), standardized test scores, results of Standards of Learning and attendance data, disciplinary records, school/community activities and work experience, employment evaluations of cooperative vocational programs, program of studies plan, health and physical fitness data, immunization records, type of diploma awarded, grade point average, and rank in class. These records also contain the name and address of the parent or legal custodian.
Students with special needs and certain students requiring differentiated programs and/or special services (such as special education) have records related to their educational program, which are also maintained in the education record. They may include the following types of information: social histories, reports (legal, psychological, or medical), records of sensitive medical problems, verified reports of serious or recurrent atypical behavior patterns, state-required reports of evaluations for special education placement and services, reports from institutions and agencies such as juvenile court and social services, counselor or teacher case studies, confidential interviews and/or recommendations, reports of parent conferences and permission for evaluation, placement and release of information, vocational assessment data, eligibility committee minutes, and individualized education programs. All education record data is maintained in a single record.
Parents or eligible students should submit to their school Principal a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The school Principal will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the record(s) may be inspected.
2) The right to request the amendment of the students’ education records that parents or eligible students believe are inaccurate.
Parents or eligible students may ask Middlesex County Public Schools to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write the school Principal, clearly identifying the part of the record they want changed, and specifying why the record is inaccurate.
If the school division decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the school division will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing regarding the requested 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 consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in students’ 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 division as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel); a person serving on the School Board; a person or company with whom the division has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist); or a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his/her tasks.
A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his/her professional responsibility.
Upon request, the school division discloses education records without consent to officials of another school division in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
4) Information designated as directory information and the right to opt out of release of directory information.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law, requires that the Middlesex County Public Schools, with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records. However, the Middlesex County Public Schools may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the Middlesex County Public Schools to include this type of information from your child’s education records in certain school publications.
Within the Middlesex County Public Schools, the following items are classified as directory information: student’s name, participation in officially recognized sports and activities, weight and height of members of athletic teams, photograph, degrees/honors/awards received, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, grade level, and the most recent educational agency or institution attended.
As of July 1, 2018, no school shall disclose the address, telephone number, or electronic mail address of a student pursuant to FERPA or FOIA unless the parent or eligible student has affirmatively consented in writing such disclosure.
If you do not want Middlesex County Public Schools to disclose directory information from your child’s education records without your prior written consent, you must notify the division in writing within 15 working days of receiving this notice.
Additionally, the division’s website is created and monitored by division personnel with an emphasis on sharing successes while keeping in mind student security issues.
Once a child enters Middlesex County Public Schools, parents, guardians or students (if 18 years of age or older) are asked to complete a media release form indicating their preference regarding the release of information to media and through division communications outlets. This form is valid for the annual duration of your child’s attendance in any Middlesex County school, but may be modified at any time by submitting a written request to the school office.
5) The right of the school division to release records to other institutions that request the information and in which the student seeks or intends to enroll or is already enrolled so long as the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer.
Federal and state laws control access to pupil records. The Principal of each school is responsible for the records maintained within that school. Access to student records is limited to those persons having responsibility or legitimate educational interests, including the following: school officials employed by the division as administrators, supervisors, instructors or support staff (including health or medical staff and law enforcement personnel), a person serving on the school board, a person or company with whom the school board has contracted to perform a special task (attorney, auditor, medical consultant or therapist), or any individual who is assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has legitimate interest if the official needs to review an educational record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. Both natural parents, regardless of custody status, have the right of access to all student records in the absence of a court order to the contrary. Middlesex County Public Schools transfers scholastic records upon request to another school division without written notice being provided to the student or the student’s parent or guardian.
6) The right to opt out of releasing the student’s name, address, and phone number to military recruiters.
Schools are required to provide military recruiters with information about high school juniors and seniors. Parents, guardians, or students (18 years of age or older) may opt to not provide this information by signing on the applicable form located in the back of this handbook.
7) A specification of the criteria for determining who constitutes a school official and what constitutes a legitimate educational interest.
School officials are any personnel employed by the division as administrators, supervisors, instructors or support staff (including health or medical staff and law enforcement personnel), a person serving on the school board, a person or company with whom the school board has contracted to perform a special task (attorney, auditor, medical consultant or therapist), or any individual who is assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.
Reviewing, Expunging, and Destruction: Records are reviewed periodically to assure accuracy, currency, and completeness. The record data referred to previously is maintained for five years at the school last attended. At that time the records are purged and data that is not required for permanent retention is destroyed. The following education record data is maintained permanently: record data disclosure form, name and address of student, birth date, name and address of parent, program of studies plan, scholastic work completed, level of achievement, grades, grade point average, rank in class, type of diploma awarded, attendance, test data (as required by state and/or local school division), Standards of Learning Tests results, certificate of immunization, citizenship status (if other than U.S.), and driver’s education records. All other data is destroyed five years after withdrawal or graduation. Parents or eligible students have the right to be provided with copies of any of the student’s education record data prior to their destruction upon written request.
Cost of Reproducing Records: The fee for copies will be 25 cents per page. The actual cost of copying time and postage will be charged. The Middlesex County Public Schools shall not charge for search and retrieval of the records. The Middlesex County Public Schools shall not charge a fee for copying an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or for a copy of the verbatim record of a hearing conducted in accordance with the State Board of Education’s Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia. At the request of a parent(s) or eligible students, transcripts from the educational record may be sent to other educational institutions. A nominal fee, not to exceed $3.00 per copy, may be charged for transcripts. This nominal fee will be waived for current seniors.
8) The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the school division 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, DC 20202-4605
Translations: Any request for a translated version of this notice should be directed to the Division Superintendent or any principal of the Middlesex County Public Schools.