CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION
DEFINITIONS
As used under the heading Confidentiality of Information:
- Destruction means physical destruction or removal of personal identifiers from information so that the information is no longer personally identifiable.
- Education records means the type of records covered under the definition of ‘‘education records’’ in 34 CFR Part 99 (the regulations implementing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. 1232g (FERPA)).
- Participating agency means any school district, agency or institution that collects, maintains, or uses personally identifiable information, or from which information is obtained, under Part B of the IDEA.
PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE
Personally identifiable means information that has:
- Your child's name, your name as the parent, or the name of another family member;
- Your child's address;
- A personal identifier, such as your child’s social security number or student number; or
- A list of personal characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify your child with reasonable certainty.
NOTICE TO PARENTS
The State Educational Agency must give notice that is adequate to fully inform parents about confidentiality of personally identifiable information, including:
- A description of the extent to which the notice is given in the native languages of the various population groups in the State;
- A description of the children on whom personally identifiable information is maintained, the types of information sought, the methods the State intends to use in gathering the information (including the sources from whom information is gathered), and the uses to be made of the information;
- A summary of the policies and proceduresthat participating agencies must follow regarding storage, disclosure to third parties, retention, and destruction of personally identifiable information; and
- A description of all of the rights of parents and children regarding this information, including the rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and its implementing regulations in 34 CFR Part 99.
Before any major identification, location, or evaluation activity (also known as “child find”), the notice must be published or announced in newspapers or other media, or both, with circulation adequate to notify parents throughout the State of the activity to locate, identify, and evaluate children in need of special education and related services.
ACCESS RIGHTS
The participating agency must permit you to inspect and review any education records relating to your child that are collected, maintained, or used by your school district under Part B of the IDEA. The participating agency must comply with your request to inspect and review any education records on your child without unnecessary delay and before any meeting regarding an individualized education program (IEP), or any impartial due process hearing (including a resolution meeting or a hearing regarding discipline), and in no case more than 45 calendar days after you have made a request.
Your right to inspect and review education records includes:
- Your right to a response from the participating agency to your reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the records;
- Your right to request that the participating agency provide copies of the records if you cannot effectively inspect and review the records unless you receive those copies; and
- Your right to have your representative inspect and review the records.
The participating agency may presume that you have authority to inspect and review records relating to your child unless advised that you do not have the authority under applicable State law governing such matters as guardianship, or separation and divorce.
RECORD OF ACCESS
Each participating agency must keep a record of parties obtaining access to education records collected, maintained, or used under Part B of the IDEA (except access by parents and authorized employees of the participating agency), including the name of the party, the date access was given, and the purpose for which the party is authorized to use the records.
RECORDS ON MORE THAN ONE CHILD
If any education record includes information on more than one child, the parents of those children have the right to inspect and review only the information relating to their child or to be informed of that specific information.
LIST OF TYPES AND LOCATIONS OF INFORMATION
On request, each participating agency must provide you with a list of the types and locations of education records collected, maintained, or used by the agency.
FEES
Each participating agency may charge a fee for copies of records that are made for you under Part B of the IDEA, if the fee does not effectively prevent you from exercising your right to inspect and review those records.
A participating agency may not charge a fee to search for or to retrieve information under Part B of the IDEA.
AMENDMENT OF RECORDS AT PARENT’S REQUEST
If you believe that information in the education records regarding your child collected, maintained, or used under Part B of the IDEA is inaccurate, misleading, or violates the privacy or other rights of your child, you may request the participating agency that maintains the information to change the information.
The participating agency must decide whether to change the information in accordance with your request within a reasonable period of time of receipt of your request.
If the participating agency refuses to change the information in accordance with your request, it must inform you of the refusal and advise you of the right to a hearing for this purpose as described under the heading Opportunity for a Hearing.
OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING
The participating agency must, on request, provide you an opportunity for a hearing to challenge information in education records regarding your child to ensure that it is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of your child.
HEARING PROCEDURES
A hearing to challenge information in education records must be conducted according to the procedures for such hearings under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
RESULT OF HEARING
If, as a result of the hearing, the participating agency decides that the information is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of the child, it must change the information accordingly and inform you in writing.
If, as a result of the hearing, the participating agency decides that the information is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of your child, it must inform you of your right to place in the records that it maintains on your child a statement commenting on the information or providing any reasons you disagree with the decision of the participating agency.
Such an explanation placed in the records of your child must:
- Be maintained by the participating agency as part of the records of your child as long as the record or contested portion is maintained by the participating agency; and
- If the participating agency discloses the records of your child or the challenged portion to any party, the explanation must also be disclosed to that party.
CONSENT FOR DISCLOSURE OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION
Unless the information is contained in education records, and the disclosure is authorized without parental consent under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), your consent must be obtained before personally identifiable information is disclosed to parties other than officials of participating agencies. Except under the circumstances specified below, your consent is not required before personally identifiable information is released to officials of participating agencies for purposes of meeting a requirement of Part B of the IDEA.
Your consent, or consent of an eligible child who has reached the age of majority under State law, must be obtained before personally identifiable information is released to officials of participating agencies providing or paying for transition services.
If your child is in, or is going to go to, a private school that is not located in the same school district you reside in, your consent must be obtained before any personally identifiable information about your child is released between officials in the school district where the private school is located and officials in the school district where you reside.
SAFEGUARDS
Each participating agency must protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure, and destruction stages.
One official at each participating agency must assume responsibility for ensuring the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information.
All persons collecting or using personally identifiable information must receive training or instruction regarding your State’s policies and procedures regarding confidentiality under Part B of the IDEA and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Each participating agency must maintain, for public inspection, a current listing of the names and positions of those employees within the agency who may have access to personally identifiable information.
DESTRUCTION OF INFORMATION
Your school district must inform you when personally identifiable information collected, maintained, or used is no longer needed to provide educational services to your child.
The information must be destroyed at your request. However, a permanent record of your child’s name, address, and phone number, his or her grades, attendance record, classes attended, grade level completed, and year completed may be maintained without time limitation.
