Parent & Student Resources
Annual
Notice & Child Find Policy
Annual
Notification to Parents Regarding Confidentiality of Student
Education Records and School Directory Information
Confidentiality of education records is a right of public
school students and their parents. This right is provided
for by two federal laws, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), and the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA). Under these laws, “education records”
means those records that are: (1) directly related to a
student; and (2) maintained by an educational agency or
institution or by a party acting for the agency or
institution. Of course, education records are maintained on
every child enrolled in a public school. The types of
information gathered and maintained includes, but is not
limited to: the student’s and parents’ names, address and
telephone number; the student’s date and place of birth,
date of enrollment in the school, records from previous
schools attended, attendance record, subjects taken, grades,
school activities, assessment results, number of credits
earned, immunization records, disciplinary records, if any,
correspondence from parents, and child find and other
screening results, including hearing and vision screening
results.
In addition,
for children with disabilities, education records could
include, among other things, evaluation and testing
materials, medical and health information, each annual
Individualized Education Program (IEP), notices to parents,
notes regarding IEP meetings, parental consent documents,
information provided by parents, progress reports,
assessment results, materials related to disciplinary
actions, and mediation agreements.
The
information is gathered from a number of sources including
the student’s parents and staff of the school of
attendance. Also, with parental permission, information may
be gathered from additional sources including doctors and
other health care providers.
This
information is collected to assure proper identification of
a student and the student’s parents and the maintenance of
accurate records of the student’s progress and activities in
school. For children with disabilities, additional
information is collected in order to assure the child is
identified, evaluated, and provided a Free Appropriate
Public Education in accordance with state and federal
special education laws.
Each agency
participating under Part B of IDEA must assure that at all
stages of gathering, storing, retaining and disclosing
education records to third parties that it complies with the
federal confidentiality laws. In addition, the destruction
of any education records of a child with a disability must
be in accordance with IDEA regulatory requirements.
The federal
Family Policy Compliance Office of the U.S. Department of
Education has provided the following notice of parent’s
rights under FERPA. In accordance with IDEA, the rights of
the parents regarding education records are transferred to
the student at age 18.
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) (1)
The right to inspect and review the student’s education
records within 45 days of the day the school receives a
request for access.
Parents or
eligible students should submit to the school principal (or
appropriate school official) a written request that
identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The
principal will make arrangements for access and notify the
parent or eligible student of the time and place where the
records may be inspected.
(2) (2)
The right to request the amendment of the student’s
education records that the parent or eligible student
believes are inaccurate or misleading.
Parents or
eligible students may ask a school district to amend a
record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They
should write the school principal, clearly identify the part
of the record they want changed, and specify why it is
inaccurate or misleading.
If the school
decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent
or eligible student, the school will notify the parent or
eligible student of the decision and advise them of their
right to a hearing regarding the request for 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) (3)
The right to
consent to disclosures of personally identifiable
information contained in the student’s 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 school 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 school 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 or her tasks.
A school
official has a legitimate educational interest if the
official needs to review an education record in order to
fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
Upon request,
a school may disclose education records, without consent, to
officials of another school district in which a student
seeks or intends to enroll, if the school states in its
annual notification of FERPA rights that it forwards records
on request.
(4) (4)
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of
Education concerning alleged failures by a school 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 S.W.
Washington,
D.C. 20202-4605
A school may
designate information in education records as “directory
information” and may disclose it without parent consent,
unless notified that the school is not to disclose the
information without consent. The law defines “directory
information” as follows:
The student’s
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, degrees and awards
received, and the most recent previous educational agency or
institution attended by the student.
Notice of
these rights is available, upon request, on audiotape, in
Braille, and in languages other than English. You may
contact the Arizona Department of Education at 602-542-3111.
Child Find Policy & Procedure
PCS/Pillar Academy will ensure
that all children with disabilities within the boundaries of
PCS/Pillar Academy, including children with disabilities
who are homeless or wards of the State, and children with
disabilities attending private schools or who are home
schooled, and who are in need of special education and
related services are identified, located and evaluated.
PROCEDURES
§300.111 CHILD FIND
PCS/Pillar Academy will
identify, locate and evaluate all children with disabilities
within their population served who are in need of special
education and related services.
1) Child
find must also include children who are suspected of being a
child with a disability and in need of special education,
even though:
a. They
are advancing from grade to grade
b. Highly
mobile children, including migrant children.
2) PCS/Pillar
Academy will maintain a record of children who are
receiving special education and related services.
AAC R7-2-401.C Public
Awareness
1) PCS/Pillar
Academy shall inform the general public and parents
within its boundaries of responsibility of special education
services for students aged 3 through 21 years and how to
access those services, including information regarding early
intervention services for children aged birth through 2
years.
2) Unified
School Districts, Elementary School Districts and Union High
School Districts are responsible for public awareness and
child find for private schools within their geographic
boundaries.
AAC R7-2-401.D
1) PCS/Pillar
Academy shall establish, implement and disseminate
written procedures for the identification and referral of
all children with disabilities, birth through 21 years.
Unified School Districts, Elementary School Districts and
Union High School Districts must include children with
disabilities attending private schools and home schools,
regardless of severity of disability.
2) PCS/Pillar
Academy will require all school based staff to review
the written procedures related to child identification and
referral on an annual basis, and maintain documentation of
the staff review.
3) Identification
(screening for possible disabilities) shall be completed
within 45 calendar days after:
a. Entry
of each preschool or kindergarten student and any student
enrolling without appropriate records or screening,
evaluation, and progress in school; or
b. Parent
notification of developmental or educational concerns
4) Screening
procedures shall include vision and hearing status and
consideration of the following areas :
a. Cognitive
or academic;
b. Communication;
c. Motor;
d. Social
or behavioral; and
e. Adaptive
development.
5) For
a student transferring into a school, PCS/Pillar Academy
shall review enrollment data and educational performance
in the prior school. If there is a history of special
education for a student not currently eligible for special
education or poor progress, the name of the student shall be
submitted to the administrator for consideration of the need
for a referral for a full and individual evaluation or other
services.
6) If
a concern about a student is identified through screening
procedures or review of records, the parents of the student
shall be notified of the concern within 10 school days and
informed of PCS/Pillar Academy’s procedures to
follow-up on the student’s needs.
7) PCS/Pillar
Academy shall maintain documentation of the
identification procedures utilized, the dates of entry into
school, notification by parents of a concern and the dates
of screening. The dates shall be maintained in the student’s
permanent records.
8) If
the screening indicates a possible disability, the name of
the student shall be submitted to the administrator for
consideration of the need for a referral for a full and
individual evaluation or other services. A parent or a
student may request an evaluation of the student.
9) If,
after consultation with the parent, PCS/Pillar Academy
determines that a full and individual evaluation is not
warranted, PCS/Pillar Academy shall provide prior
written notice and procedural safeguards notice to the
parent in a timely manner.
|
