FERPA is the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
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GENERAL
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) Home
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.
FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."
Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.
Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.
Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):
o School officials with legitimate educational interest;
o Other schools to which a student is transferring;
o Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
o Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
o Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
o Accrediting organizations;
o To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
o Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
o State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.
Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.
For additional information or technical assistance, you may call (202) 260-3887 (voice). Individuals who use TDD may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
Or you may contact us at the following address:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-5920
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Should PA Statewide Tests Still be on the Table?
From the Allentown Morning Call
... And new graduation tests are needed, too
July 27, 2008
Pennsylvania's Independent Regulatory Review Commission is charged with examining all new state regulations before they take effect. Usually, it asks technical, arcane questions about minor details within a new set of rules. However, when it looked at plans for a new school district-specific ''graduation test,'' the Graduation Competency Assessments, the commission's question was very fundamental: Why does Pennsylvania need this test at all?
High school students in the Lehigh Valley and all over Pennsylvania are familiar with the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or PSSAs. This test, taken in the junior year, measures math and verbal abilities. A student must be scored proficient or better to graduate.
However, Pennsylvania's ''graduation test'' would be tailored to fit individual school districts, instead of being mandated statewide, like the PSSA. The State Board of Education suggested creating 10 subject-specific final exams that a student would take in the senior year. Three exams would be in mathematics, two in English and language arts, three in social studies and two in science. These ''final exams'' may even replace the traditional final exams that the student would normally take at the end of senior year. Starting with the class of 2014, students would have to pass six of the final exams in order to graduate.
Twenty-two other states already use this kind of ''graduation test.''
The Independent Review Commission directed several questions toward the Board about the graduation tests. The commission wanted to know the rationale behind them, how the tests would be implemented, and how much it would cost the school districts throughout Pennsylvania to give, grade and report them.
The State Board and Gov. Ed Rendell, who supports the tests, can make a strong case for them. Unlike the PSSAs, which rate schools and school districts, the graduation tests would rate individual students. Each school will receive individual student scores, which will allow administrators to determine whether a student is ready for higher education, a job, or whatever the student chooses to do after graduation.
The schools already try to do this, but along with the new tests there would be support for counseling, tutoring and other remedial work, as needed. Of course, if the state orders use of the graduation tests, then state dollars to fund the program must follow. So, the tests can help those students who otherwise might fall through a crack. And, it gives the Pennsylvanians who help to pay for the schools one more way to hold them accountable.
... And new graduation tests are needed, too
July 27, 2008
Pennsylvania's Independent Regulatory Review Commission is charged with examining all new state regulations before they take effect. Usually, it asks technical, arcane questions about minor details within a new set of rules. However, when it looked at plans for a new school district-specific ''graduation test,'' the Graduation Competency Assessments, the commission's question was very fundamental: Why does Pennsylvania need this test at all?
High school students in the Lehigh Valley and all over Pennsylvania are familiar with the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or PSSAs. This test, taken in the junior year, measures math and verbal abilities. A student must be scored proficient or better to graduate.
However, Pennsylvania's ''graduation test'' would be tailored to fit individual school districts, instead of being mandated statewide, like the PSSA. The State Board of Education suggested creating 10 subject-specific final exams that a student would take in the senior year. Three exams would be in mathematics, two in English and language arts, three in social studies and two in science. These ''final exams'' may even replace the traditional final exams that the student would normally take at the end of senior year. Starting with the class of 2014, students would have to pass six of the final exams in order to graduate.
Twenty-two other states already use this kind of ''graduation test.''
The Independent Review Commission directed several questions toward the Board about the graduation tests. The commission wanted to know the rationale behind them, how the tests would be implemented, and how much it would cost the school districts throughout Pennsylvania to give, grade and report them.
The State Board and Gov. Ed Rendell, who supports the tests, can make a strong case for them. Unlike the PSSAs, which rate schools and school districts, the graduation tests would rate individual students. Each school will receive individual student scores, which will allow administrators to determine whether a student is ready for higher education, a job, or whatever the student chooses to do after graduation.
The schools already try to do this, but along with the new tests there would be support for counseling, tutoring and other remedial work, as needed. Of course, if the state orders use of the graduation tests, then state dollars to fund the program must follow. So, the tests can help those students who otherwise might fall through a crack. And, it gives the Pennsylvanians who help to pay for the schools one more way to hold them accountable.
Center Area and Monaca Merger Update
Merger date could be sooner than first thought
By Michael Pound, Times Staff Published: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 10:10 PM EDT
CENTER TWP. — When officials from the Center Area and Monaca school districts traveled to Harrisburg earlier this month, they were told that the effective date of a long-discussed merger between the two districts is actually much closer than they believed.
State education officials told Daniel Matsook and Michael Thomas that the merger would take effect upon the approval of the state education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak — an OK that would likely come in September, after the next meeting of the Pennsylvania Board of Education.
At a meeting of the two districts’ merger committees Tuesday night, Matsook, Center’s superintendent, said that announcement gives the two school boards the ability to prepare a joint budget, work on a governance plan and address all the other details of the merger.
And there’s plenty of work to do. Thomas, Monaca’s superintendent, outlined 10 broad tasks that require involvement of board members. Some — like determining how a combined board would be composed — must be done quickly; others — such as preparing a transition plan — would likely continue for the full three years it will take to fully combine the districts.
The others include determining a high school schedule, writing operating procedures for the merged boards, preparing a new policy manual and hiring procedures, standardizing union contracts and addressing the new district’s name, colors and mascot.
“There is other work to be done, but these are the tasks that require immediate attention,” Thomas said. “I would think that governance, staffing and budget are the things that we will spend the most time on in the near future.”
By Michael Pound, Times Staff Published: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 10:10 PM EDT
CENTER TWP. — When officials from the Center Area and Monaca school districts traveled to Harrisburg earlier this month, they were told that the effective date of a long-discussed merger between the two districts is actually much closer than they believed.
State education officials told Daniel Matsook and Michael Thomas that the merger would take effect upon the approval of the state education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak — an OK that would likely come in September, after the next meeting of the Pennsylvania Board of Education.
At a meeting of the two districts’ merger committees Tuesday night, Matsook, Center’s superintendent, said that announcement gives the two school boards the ability to prepare a joint budget, work on a governance plan and address all the other details of the merger.
And there’s plenty of work to do. Thomas, Monaca’s superintendent, outlined 10 broad tasks that require involvement of board members. Some — like determining how a combined board would be composed — must be done quickly; others — such as preparing a transition plan — would likely continue for the full three years it will take to fully combine the districts.
The others include determining a high school schedule, writing operating procedures for the merged boards, preparing a new policy manual and hiring procedures, standardizing union contracts and addressing the new district’s name, colors and mascot.
“There is other work to be done, but these are the tasks that require immediate attention,” Thomas said. “I would think that governance, staffing and budget are the things that we will spend the most time on in the near future.”
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