Student Records & Directory Data

347

STUDENT RECORDS POLICY
 
All student records the School District of Whitefish Baymaintains must remain confidential, except as permitted or required by this policy, and applicable state and federal law. The District has adopted this policy to maintain confidentiality of student records. Questions regarding confidentiality of student records and permitted or required disclosures should be directed to the Director of Pupil Services.The District must ensure that district employees collecting or using personally identifiable information receive training or instruction regarding the confidentially requirements contained in this policy and applicable law.
 
Student records are all records relating to an individual student maintained by the school. A "record" is any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual or electromagnetic information is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristic. The District maintains several types of student records, including: directory data, progress records, behavioral records, student physical health records, and patient health care records.
 
Student records, however, do not include the following:
 
1.        Any notes or records maintained for personal use by either teachers or others permitted by law, as long as these notes or records are not available to others.
2.       Records necessary for, and only available to people involved in, the psychological treatment of a child. In the School District of Whitefish Bay school psychologists, counselors, school social worker and/or ATODA coordinatorare qualified to provide psychological treatment. The following services constitute psychological treatment: school adjustment issues, personal adjustment issues, and ATODA issues.
3.        Law enforcement unit records, which are records maintained by a law enforcement unit that were created by that law enforcement unit for the purpose of law enforcement. A law enforcement unit is any individual, office, division, department, or other component of the District that is authorized by the school board to maintain the physical safety and security of the school, enforce any law or ordinance, or refer to the appropriate authorities a matter for enforcement, against any person other than the District. In the School District of Whitefish Bay all administratorsmay serve as a law enforcement unit.
4.        Test protocols, test instruments and interpretive materials that do not contain personally identi­fiable information, such as the student's name. (Answer sheets that do contain the student's name are student records, and may require explanation and interpretation from school staff.)
 
Although technically student records, applicable law limits a parent's right to information regarding a student's reproductive health and HIV test results.
 
Directory data includes the following student records: Name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, photographs, degrees and awards received, and the name of the school most recently attended by the student.
 
Progress records include the following student records: student's grades, a statement of the courses the student has taken, the student's attendance record, the student's immunization records, any lead screening records, and records of the student's school extracurricular activities.
 
Behavioral records include the following student records: psychological tests, personality evaluations, records of conversations, any written statement relating specifically to an individual student's behavior, tests relating specifically to achievement or measurement of ability, the student's physical health records other than his or her immunization records, certain lead screening records, certain law enforcement officer records, and any other student records that are not progress records.
 
Student physical health records include basic health information about a student, including the student's immunization records, an emergency medical card, a log of first aid and medicine administered to the student, an athletic permit card, a record concerning the student's ability to participate in an education program, certain lead screening records, the results of any routine screening test, such as for hearing, vision or scoliosis, and any follow-up to such test, and any other basic health information as determined by the state superintendent.
 
Patient health care records are all student records relating to a student's physical health that are not contained in the list of student physical health records. Any student's record concerning HIV status, however, is treated differently as described below.
 
Access to Student Records
 
As discussed above, the District must protect confidentiality of and allow access to student records as provided by this policy and applicable law. As a result, the confidentiality and access provisions described in this policy are not exhaustive.For example, the District must also comply with the provisions of the Children's Online Protection Act regarding information available on its website, the National School Lunch Act regarding information in student records regarding free and reduced price meal eligibility, and the Drug and Alcohol Patient Records Confidentiality Act regarding students who apply for or receive alcohol or drug abuse treatment services. The District also addresses related issues, such as parent access to information under the No Child Left Behind Act, and security of electronic data in the following policies: [insert references to other District policies
 
 
Access to Student Records Generally (Excluding Patient Health Care Records)
 
1.                   Persons Employed by the District. The District must make student records available to District employees who are required to hold a teachers license, and to other District officials the School Board determines has a legitimate educational interest in the student's record. A legitimate educational interest exists when a district employee or official reasonably needs to know the information to perform his or her professional responsibilities. (This includes, but is not limited to: 1) performing educational or discipline related tasks in connection with a student; 2) providing services to a student or the student's family, such as emergency health care, counseling, special education, or related services, and school or job placement services; and 3) performing administrative or other duties for the District.)
 
Those with legitimate educational interests may include a person employed by or working on behalf of the District as a school board member, administrator, supervisor, instructor, support staff member (including health or medical staff and police-school liaison personnel); a person or company with whom the District contracts to perform a specific task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant or therapist); 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; or other school district officials.
 
Nothing in this policy prohibits the District from using a student's records in connection with the suspension or expulsion of the student, unless otherwise prohibited by law.
 
In addition, information concerning the student's physically harmful behavior may be disclosed to the student's teachers and to any other school district official who has a legitimate educational interest (as defined above) or safety interest in the information if the District determines, based on evidence that a student engaged in behavior that seriously physically harmed another individual within the previous 12 months or that a student has engaged in a pattern of behavior causing serious physical harm to another individual, that there is reasonable cause to believe that the student may engage in behavior at school or under the supervision of a school authority that is physically harmful to another individual. The information must be limited to information reasonably necessary to meet the educational needs of the student and the safety needs of other students and school personnel. The teacher or other school district official may not disclose the information to any other person. Such information may also be disclosed in connection with a health or safety emergency, as described below.
 
  1. Persons Named In Authorization for Release of Records. An adult student or the parent of a minor student may give the District written permission to release the student's progress records or such portions of the student's behavioral records as determined by the person authorizing the release. When the District receives such permission, it must disclose the student's progress records and any specified behavioral records to the person named in the permission. Adult students or parents requesting disclosure should complete the District's "Authorization for Release of Records" form. The District may not disclose law enforcement officers' records under this section unless the adult student or parent of a minor student specifically authorizes disclosure in the written permission.
 
Under this policy and applicable law, parents who have been denied periods of physical placement with their child do NOT have the rights of a parent or guardian with respect to their child's student records.
 
3.                   Courts. The District must disclose student records to a court in response to a subpoena from parties to an action for in camera inspection, and to be used only for impeachment of a witness who has testified in the action.
 
4.                   Public Officers and the Department of Public Instruction. The District must provide any public officer with records that Chapters 115 though 121 of the Wisconsin Statutes require the District to maintain. The District must provide the Department of Public Instruction with any information contained in a student record that relates to an audit and evaluation of state or federal supported programs, or that is required to determine compliance with requirements under Chapters 115 through 121 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
 
5.                   Parents of Students Who Have Reached 18 Years of Age. The District may disclose personally identifiable information from an adult student's record to the student's parent or guardian if the student is financially dependent on his/her parent(s), unless the student has informed the District in writing that the information may not be disclosed. If the student is not financially dependent on his/her parent(s), the District will disclose the information if the adult student gives the District written permission, as described in paragraph two of this section.
 
6.                   Various agencies for purpose of providing services before adjudication. The District may disclose student records to the following for the purpose of providing services to a student before adjudication: a law enforcement agency, district attorney, city attorney or corporation counsel, department of corrections, county department, licensed child welfare agency, intake worker, court of record, municipal court, private school or another school board pursuant to an interagency agreement. To disclose student records to any of these organizations or individuals, the organization or individual must first certify in writing that the records will not be disclosed to any other person, except as permitted by law.
 
7.                   Disclosure to Individuals Named in Court Order. The District must disclose student records in compliance with certain court orders, as required by applicable law. (Wis. Stat. 118.125(2)(L).)
 
8.                   Disclosure to Appropriate Parties in Emergency. The District may disclose student records to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of any individual.
 
Access to Directory Data
 
On an annual basis, the District must notify all parents of the categories of information designated
as directory data with respect to each student. This notice further states that parents must notify the school within 14 days if the parent does not want the District to disclose all or any part of the directory data regarding their child without the parent's prior consent. If the District allows the parent 14 days to respond, and does not receive notice from the parent that the directory data may not be disclosed without the parent's prior consent, the District may disclose the directory data to any person without the parent's consent.
 
If the District allows the parent 14 days to respond, and does not receive notice from the parent that the directory data may not be disclosed without the parent's prior consent, the District must disclose the following information:
 
1.        Names and addresses of students expected to graduate during the current school year to a technical college district board.
2.        Directory data for the purpose of enforcing attendance, investigating alleged criminal or delinquent activity, or in response to a health or safety emergency to any representative of a law enforcement agency, district attorney, city attorney or corporation counsel, department of corrections, county department, licensed child welfare agency, intake worker, court of record or municipal court.
 
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, the District must release student names, addresses, and phone numbers to military recruiters and to institutions of higher learning upon request, unless the student or parent requests that this information not be released without prior consent, pursuant to the procedures described above.
 
Under this policy and applicable law, parents who have been denied periods of physical placement with their child do NOT have the rights of a parent or guardian with respect to their child's student records.
 
Access to Progress Records
 
  1. Students and their Parents. Upon request, the District must show and provide copies of a student's progress records to the student or the student's parent. The District must comply with such requests as soon as practicable, and within 45 calendar days after the District receives the request.

    Parent means a natural parent, legal guardian or guardian ad litem. Under this policy and applicable law, parents who have been denied periods of physical placement with their child do NOT have the rights of a parent or guardian with respect to their child's progress records.
 
  1. Judges and Courts. Upon request of a judge of any Wisconsin court, or federal court, the District must provide progress records of a student who is the subject of any proceeding in that court.
 
  1. Law Enforcement - Attendance Records Only. The District must provide a copy of a student's attendance record to a law enforcement agency if the law enforcement agency certifies the following in writing: 1) the student is under investigation for truancy or for allegedly committing a criminal or delinquent act; 2) the law enforcement agency will not further disclose the student's attendance record information except as permitted by law. When the District discloses a student's attendance record for purposes of truancy, the District will notify the student's parent of the disclosure as soon as practicable after the disclosure.
 
  1. Fire Investigator - Attendance Records Only. The District must provide a copy of a student's attendance record to a fire investigator if the fire investigator certifies the following in writing: 1) the student is under investigation for arson; 2) the attendance record is necessary for the fire investigator to pursue the investigation; and 3) the fire investigator will only disclose the student's attendance record for the purpose of pursuing the investigation.
 
  1. County Department - Attendance Records Only. If a student violates a school attendance provision of a dispositional order, the District must notify the county department responsible for supervising a child within 5 days after the violation.
 
  1. Courts - Dropout Names Only. In response to a court order, the District must provide to the court names of students the District knows to be dropouts residing within the county in which the circuit court is located or the municipality in which the municipal court is located.
 
  1. Technical College District. Health and Family Services, Department of Workforce Development- Names of Withdrawn Students Only. Upon request, the District must provide the names of students who have withdrawn from the District prior to graduation under to the technical college district board in which the District is located. The District must also provide this information, upon request, to the department of health and family services, the department of workforce development or a county department, as required by law.
 
Access to Behavioral Records
 
  1. Students and their Parents. Upon request, the District must show a student's behavioral record to the adult student or a minor student's parent in the presence of a person qualified to explain and interpret the records. Upon request, the District must provide the adult student or the minor student's parent with copies of the student's behavioral records. The District will comply with such requests as soon as practicable, and within 45 calendar days after the District receives the request.

    Parent means a natural parent, legal guardian or guardian ad litem. Under this policy and applicable law, parents who have been denied periods of physical placement with their child do NOT have the rights of a parent or guardian with respect to their child's behavioral records.
 
Access to Pupil Physical Health Records
 
1.            Department of Health and Family Services - Immunization Records Only. The District must make information from a student's immunization records available to the department of health and family services to carry out the purposes permitted by law.
 
2.            State and Local Health Officials - Lead Screening Records Only. Information from any student lead screening records shall be made available to state and local health officials to carry out the purposes permitted by law.
 
Access to Patient Health Care Records
 
All patient health care records must remain confidential. As a result, any District employee receiving patient health care records must keep that information confidential, unless disclosure is permitted by this policy or applicable law. For example, the law permits disclosure to persons with the informed consent of the student or a minor student's parents. Parents who have been denied periods of physical placement with their child do NOT have the rights of a parent or guardian with respect to their child's patient health care records.
 
The District's patient health care records may be released upon request without informed consent as allowed by applicable law, and to a District employee or agent, if the following apply:
 
a)       The employee or agent has responsibility for the preparation or storage of patient health care records;
b)       Access to patient health care records is necessary to comply with a requirement in federal or state law. This includes school district employees and agents who need the information to carry out specific duties relating to the identification, evaluation, placement and provision of a free and appropriate public education to a child with a disability under state and federal special education laws; or
c)       the information is necessary for the staff person to respond to a health emergency.
 
 
Any student record that concerns the results of a test for the presence of HIV, antigen or non antigenic products of HIV or an antibody to HIV (the virus which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-AIDS) shall be confidential and may be disclosed to other persons only with the informed consent of the test subject.
 
Parent or Adult Student Consent to Disclosure
 
For purposes of this policy, "consent" means written consent that includes all of the following information:
 
·          name of the student whose record is being disclosed; type of information to be disclosed;
·          names of the person(s) making the disclosure;
·          purpose of the disclosure;
·          individual, agency or organization to which disclosure may be made; signature of the student, if an adult, or the parent of a minor student and the relationship to the student;
·          date on which the consent is signed; and
·          time period during which the consent is effective.
 
When requesting consent for release or exchange of information from a parent or student, the District will provide its "Authorization for Release of Information" form. To consent to release or exchange of information, the parent must complete, sign and date the form.
 
Fees for Copies of Student Records
 
The District may charge a fee for copies of student records, unless the fee effectively prevents a parent of an eligible student from exercising the right to inspect and review the record. Where the fee represents an unusual hardship, the District's record custodian may waive it in part or in its entirety. The District's record custodian is Director of Pupil Services. The fees for copies of the records will be the actual, necessary and direct cost of reproduction and/or transcription of the record unless a fee is otherwise specifically established or authorized to be established by law. A schedule of fees may be obtained from the record custodian.
 
Maintaining Student Records
 
Each Building Principal has primary responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of student records kept in his/her own building, including Section 504 records. Law enforcement unit records (which are not student records, as discussed above), ATODA records, and patient health care records (including information regarding a student's reproductive health and HIV testing) must be maintained separately from a student's other records.
 
The Director of Pupil Services has primary responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of all student records stored at the central office (excluding disciplinary records) for students with disabilities under IDEA, for students who have been referred for Pupil Services evaluations.
 
All requests for inspection of progress and behavioral records, other than those regarding special education or pupil services records, should be directed to the Building Principal. All requests for
inspection of special education or pupil services evaluations should be directed to the Director of Pupil Services or Special Education Director. All requests for inspection of patient health care records should be directed to the school nurse.
 
The District must maintain a record of requests for access and disclosures with each student record as long as the student records are maintained. This record does not include access by parents, the student, school officials, any party with written consent from the parent, any party seeking directory information and subpoenas. When the record is required, it must include the name of the party, the date access was given, and the purpose for which the party is authorized to use the records.
 
The District must maintain a record of all persons, including parents and school personnel, obtaining access to patient health care records. A record of access to patient health care records must also include the time of the release and identify the specific records released.
 
Transferring Student Records
 
Building principals are responsible for transferring records within the District when students transfer between buildings. Building principals and guidance counselors must ensure that professional staff review the records of each student transferring from elementary to middle to high to ensure compliance with the IDEA and Section 504. The building principal of the sending building is responsible for transferring records to the receiving building. If a building principal of the receiving building does not receive the records, he/she must contact the sending building to request the records immediately.
 
The District must transfer all of a student's records, including behavioral records, to another public or private school or school district without consent within five (5) working days after one of the following occurs:
 
1)      the District receives written notice from the student, if he/she is an adult, or his/her parent/guardian if the student is a minor, that the student intends to enroll in the another school or school district; or
2)      the District receives written notice from another public or private school or district that the student has enrolled; or
3)      the District receives written notice from a court that the student has been placed in a juvenile correction facility or secured child caring institution or secured group home.
 
The District must transfer student records only. As a result, personally identifiable records that are not student records (including, but not limited to, personal notes or records used for the psychological treatment of the pupil, as defined above) may not be transferred.
 
When transferring patient health care records generated within the District, the District must seal these records in a separate envelope and address them to the receiving school or district's health care provider or building administrator. To transfer patient health care records received from outside providers, the District must request informed consent from the student's parents, depending on the contents, the student. If the District receives consent, it must transfer the record as a sealed patient health care record. If the District does not receive consent, the District must prepare a summary of the educationally relevant information and transfer it without consent as a pupil physical health record. The District must retain copies of these records as required by applicable law, and the "Destroying Student Records" section, below.
 
Destroying Student Records
 
The District will maintain all student progress records for a minimum of five (5) years after the student ceases to be enrolled in the school. This includes records of students who transfer out of the District, graduate, or leave the District for any other reason.
 
The District will maintain students' behavioral records for a maximum of one (1) year after the student ceases to be enrolled in the District, unless the parent or adult student specifies in writing that the records may be maintained for a longer period of time or unless otherwise required for compliance purposes. This includes records of students who transfer out of the District, graduate, or leave the District for any other reason.
 
Special education records for students with disabilities under the IDEA must be maintained for five (5) years after the student graduates or otherwise ceases to be enrolled in the District.
 
Within three months of graduation or immediately when a student otherwise ceases to be enrolled, the District must notify adult students and parents in writing of this requirement The notification must request consent to maintain the student's special education records for five years after the student ceases to be enrolled in the District. If the District does not receive such consent, the District must remove personal identifiers from the records so that they may be kept for the five-year period. The District must maintain a separate list of codes and corresponding personal identifiers for audit purposes
 
The District will maintain patient health care records for seven (7) years after they are created or received from a source outside the District. The Director of Pupil Services is responsible for maintaining these records.
 
Amending Student Records
 
A parent of a minor student, or an adult student, who believes that information contained in student records is inaccurate, misleading or violates the privacy or other rights of the student may request amendment of the records by submitting a written request to the building administrator or the Director of Pupil Services. The written request should: (1) describe the specific part of the student record the parent or student believes is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of privacy or other rights and (2) state the amendment requested. The Administrator must decide whether to amend the record. If the Administrator refuses to amend the record, he/she must inform the parent or adult student of the decision in writing within 15calendar days after receiving the request. The written decision must include notice of the right to a hearing before the Board of Education.
 
If the parent or adult student requests a hearing, the Board shall hold the hearing within 45calendar days after receiving that request. The District shall notify the parent or adult student of the date, time and location of the hearing in advance. At the hearing, the parent or adult student shall have a full and fair opportunity to present evidence, and the opportunity to be assisted and represented by one or more individuals, including an attorney of their choice, and at their own expense. The Board will issue a written decision within 10 (ten)calendar days after the hearing. The decision will be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing and include the summary of the evidence and reasons for the decision.
 
If, as a result of the hearing, the Board of Education decides that the record is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other right of the student, it must amend the record accordingly and inform the parent or adult student of the amendment.
 
If,as a result of the hearing, the Board of Education decides that the record is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of the student, it must inform the adult student or parent of the right to place a statement in the record. The District must maintain the statement as a part of the record and be disclosed whenever a portion of the records to which it relates is disclosed. Any statements placed in a student's records pursuant to this section must be maintained as long as the record or contested portion is maintained.
 
Annual Notices Regarding Student Records
 
Annually, the District must notify parents and students of their right to:
 
·          inspect and review the student records, and the procedure to exercise this right;
·          seek amendment of the student's school records if they believe the records are inaccurate or misleading or otherwise in violation of their privacy rights, and the procedure for requesting the amendment of records;
·          consent to the disclosure of the student's school records, unless otherwise authorized without consent;
·          file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office of the U.S. Department of Education.
 
The notice includes a statement of criteria for determining who constitutes a school official and what constitutes a legitimate educational interest. The District must ensure parents who are disabled and parents who have a primary or home language other than English are effectively notified. When a student transfers into the district after the District has given this notice, the District must provide a copy of the notice to the student and his/her parents.
 
As noted above, on an annual basis, the must District notify all parents of the categories of information designated as directory data with respect to each student. This notice must be in writing and state that parents must notify the school within 14 days if the parent does not want the District to disclose all or any part of the directory data regarding their child without the parent's prior consent. If the District allows the parent 14 days to respond, and does not receive notice from the parent that the directory data may not be disclosed without the parent's prior consent, the District may disclose the directory data to any person without the parent's consent.
 
Annually, and before the provision of service, a health care provider within the District must provide a student's parents with the provisions of access to patient health care information within the District.
 
Annually, on or before August 15, the District must report to the appropriate county departments the names of students who reside in the District, are 16 years of age or older, are enrolled in or are eligible to be enrolled in a special education program, are not expected to be enrolled in an education program two years from the date of the report, and may require community services for mental health, alcoholism or drug abuse. The District must obtain parent consent or, where appropriate, student consent before filing this report.
 
Complaints Regarding Alleged Student Records Law Violations
 
Adult students or parents of minor students may file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office of the U.S. Department of Education for any alleged violation of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) at the following address:
Family Policy Compliance Office
US. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC20202-4605
 
Parents of students with disabilities may also contact the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. They may obtain further information by consulting the District's statement of parent rights under the IDEA, or by contacting the Director of Pupil Services.
 
Adoption Date                -           11/11/87, 9/14/88, 10/9/96, 9/9/98, 6/8/05
Legal Reference -           Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act,                                                                                 Wis. Stats. 118.125
Cross Reference            -           347-Rule, Guidelines for the Maintenance and
                                    Confidentiality of Student Records
347-Exhibit, Directory Data Notice