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STUDENT RECORDS                            3090

1. Cumulative Records

1.1 Student records are defined as the complete cumulative history of a student’s activity in school—including, but not limited to transcript of grades, ACT, and other test scores, health records, counseling records, and permanent files.

1.2    Sevier School District discourages the inclusion of any subjective information in student records, which stereotypes students for further educational placement.

1.3    A cumulative record will be kept on each student and contain the following student directory information:

1.3.1    Personal data; student’s complete name, (including adoptive or assumed names, any aliases or other names that the student went by in school), birthdate, address, any previous schools attended, and parent’s or guardian’s names.    

1.3.2    Essential medical information.

1.3.3    Psychological services received outside the school system, giving data and agency.    

1.3.4    General aptitude information.

1.3.5    Individual test data (test labels and test titles should be used).  The examiner should be listed if possible).    1.3.6    Group achievement test data.    

1.3.7    Parent permission information.

1.3.8    Complete student transcripts, total credits earned, graduation data, and driver’s education records.

1.4    Student counselors in secondary schools may choose to add data regarding:

1.4.1    Student’s extra curricular participation, achievement awards or honors.

2.    Statement of Rights

2.1    Parents and eligible students have the following rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and this policy:


2.1.1    The right to inspect and review the student’s education records,

2.1.1.1    The right to exercise a limited control over other people’s access to the student’s education record,
2.1.1.2    The right to seek to correct errors in the student’s education record--through due process procedures if necessary,
2.1.1.3 The right to report violations of FERPA to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,
2.1.1.4 The right to be informed about FERPA rights.

2.2    All rights and protections given parents under the FERPA and this policy transfer to the student when he or she reaches age 18, is determined to be of majority by other means or exclusively enrolls in a post secondary school.  The student then becomes an “eligible student.”

3.    Locations of Education Records

3.1    All permanent student records for current students should be located in the principal’s office or a secured, fireproof designated area (if available), which will maintain confidentiality.

3.2    Designated high school personnel have custodial responsibility for student records for three years.  At the end of each school year, when records of the most recent graduating class go into storage, records from the fourth year previous are to be sent to the District records clerk at the district office.

3.3    All permanent records are stored at the district office in a secure, fireproof designated area (if available), which will maintain confidentiality, including records of students who have moved away, or dropped out of school and non-graduates.

3.4    Periodically, at the discretion of the District records clerk, former students’ permanent records will be sorted, and the oldest, less frequently requested will be microfilmed.

4. Permanent Records  

4.1    Moveouts and Dropouts

4.2   If a school or the District records clerk receives a request for student records from a school to which a student is transferring or has transferred, the school shall forward the records within 30 school days of the request unless the record has been flagged as the record of a missing child under Utah Code Ann. 53G-6-602, in which case the records shall not be forwarded and the Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division of the Department of Public Safety shall be notified of the records request.

4.3    Upon request, the entire original record should be sent to the new school.  Forward a copy of the secondary school transcript only to the district office with an explanation.

4.4    Elementary and middle school records that are not requested by the new school should be forwarded to the district office at the end of each school year.

4.5    A student’s permanent counseling, academic and health records are to be kept in one file folder.

4.6    Records of dropouts and non-graduates will be forwarded to Cedar Ridge High School upon request.

5.    Destroying Confidential Material

5.1    After three years, counseling and health records may be destroyed; however, transcripts, ACT scores and permanent academic records may never be destroyed. Additional information may be retained in the record if deemed necessary and prudent by the District records clerk.

5.2    Confidentiality must be maintained at all times when destroying records.

5.3    For Special Education records, Sevier School District informs parents or the student age 18 or older when personally identifiable information collected, maintained, or used under Part B of the IDEA is no longer needed to provide educational services to the student. Information no longer needed must be destroyed at the request of the parents or student age 18 or older. However, a permanent record of a student’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. Each student’s records may be considered “no longer needed to provide educational services” and may be destroyed three (3) years after the student graduates or three (3) years after the student turns 22."

6.    Requests for Transcripts

6.1    Written requests for records no longer stored at a school should be forwarded to the District records clerk immediately.

6.2    Refer telephone requests to the district office, or take down complete information and forward to the District records clerk.  Complete information means alternate names, correct spellings, social security number, date of birth, address where transcript should be sent, and phone number in case of questions or difficulty in locating the record.

6.3    Those who can legitimately request student records are prospective employers, schools where the individual intends to enroll, the eligible student, or student’s guardian if the student is under the age of 18.

6.4    Student records may not be withheld to force payment of debts to the school.

7.    Fees for Copies of RecordThe fee for copies of transcripts or other permanent record information for current or former students of Sevier School District is the current rate per copy established by the District with a minimum fee of $5.00, plus postage if mailed, due at the time the request is made.

8.    Procedure to Inspect Education Records

8.1    Parents of students and eligible students may inspect and review the student’s education records upon request.  In some circumstances, it may be mutually more convenient for the District records clerk to provide copies of records.

8.2    Parents of eligible students should submit to the student’s school principal a written request, which identifies as precisely as possible the record or records he or she wishes to inspect.

8.3    The principal (their designee, or the District records clerk) will make the needed arrangements as promptly as possible and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.  This procedure must be completed within a reasonable time but in any case not more than 45 days from the receipt of the access request.


8.4    If for any valid reason such as working hours, distance between record location sites, or health, which prevents a parent or eligible student from personally inspecting and reviewing a student’s education record, the Sevier School District will arrange for the parent or eligible student to obtain copies of the record.

8.5    When a record contains information about students other than a parent’s child or the eligible student, the parent or eligible student may not inspect and review the information relating to the other students.

9.    Use of Student Education Records By School Officials

9.1    The process for protecting or disseminating confidential information is to share records including juvenile records with those listed below who have a legitimate need to know.

9.2    To carry out their responsibilities, school officials will have access to student education records for legitimate educational purposes.  The Sevier School District will use the following criteria to determine who school officials are.  An official is:

9.3    A person duly elected to the school board.

9.4    A person certified by the State and appointed by the school board to an administrative or supervisory position.

9.5    A person certified by the State and under contract to the school board, as an instructor.

9.6    A person employed by the school board as a temporary substitute for administrative, supervisory, or instructional purposes for the period of his or her performance as a substitute.

9.7    A person employed by or under contract to the school board to perform a special task such as a secretary, a clerk, the school board attorney or auditor during the period of his or her performance as an employee or contractor.

9.8    School officials who meet the criteria listed above will have access to a student’s records if they have a legitimate educational interest.  A “legitimate educational interest” is the person’s need to know in order to:

9.9    Perform an administrative task required in the school employee’s position description approved by the school board.

9.10    Perform a supervisory or instructional task directly related to the student’s education.

9.11    Perform a service or benefit for the student or the student’s family such as health care, counseling, student job placement, or student financial aid.

10. Disclosure of Student Educational Records Without Parental Consent

10.1    Except for school official access discussed above and the following specific exceptions, the Sevier School District will only release information from or permit access to a student’s education record with a parent or eligible student’s prior written consent.  (Any exception must be approved by the school superintendent or a person designated by the superintendent may be permitted disclosure in the following circumstances.

10.1.1 When certain federal and state officials need information in order to audit or enforce legal conditions related to federally supported education programs in the district.

10.1.2 In connection with a student’s application for or receipt of financial aid if necessary to:

10.1.3 Establish the student’s eligibility for the aid.

10.1.4 Determine the amount of financial aid.

10.1.5 Establish the conditions for the receipt of the financial aid.

10.1.6 Enforce the agreement between the provider and the receiver of financial aid.

11. If a State law adopted before November 19, 1974, required certain specific items of information to be disclosed personally identifiable form from student records to State or local officials.

12. When the Sevier School District has entered into a written agreement or contract for an organization to conduct studies on the school district’s behalf to develop tests, administer student aid, or improve instruction, provided that the study by the organization is done in such a manner that it does not permit personal identification of parents or students by individuals other than the organization’s representatives, and also assures the district that the information is destroyed when it is no longer needed for the study.

13. To accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions.


14. To parents of eligible students if the parents claim the student as a dependent as defined by the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

15. To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena. The district will make a reasonable effort to notify the student’s parents or the eligible student before making a disclosure under this provision.  The district may also disclose student records to a court to the extent relevant to a lawsuit brought by the district against the student or the student’s parents or brought against the district by the student or the student’s parents.

16. If the disclosure is an item of directory information and the student’s parent or the eligible student has not refused to allow the district to designate that item as directory information for that student.

17. The Sevier School District will permit any of its officials to make the needed disclosure from student education records in a health or safety emergency if:

17.1 He or she deems it is warranted by the seriousness of the threat to the health or safety of the student or other persons.

17.1.1 The information is necessary and needed to address or respond to the emergency.


17.1.2 The persons to whom the information is to be disclosed are qualified and in a position to deal with the emergency.


17.1.3 Time is an important and limiting factor in dealing with the emergency.

18. Disclosure of Educational Records With Consent of Parents

18.1    Sevier School District officials may release information from a student’s educational records if the student’s parent or the eligible student gives his or her prior written consent for the disclosure.  The written consent must include at least:

18.1.1 A specification of the records to be released.

18.1.2 The reasons/purpose for the disclosure.

18.1.3 The person/organization or the class of persons/organizations to whom the disclosure may be made.
      
18.1.4 The parent or eligible student’s signature.


18.1.5 The date of the consent and, if appropriate, a date when the consent is to be terminated.

18.2    The student’s parent or the eligible student may obtain a copy of any records disclosed under this provision.19. Documentation of Requests for Access and Disclosures Made from Education Records

19.1    The Sevier School District will maintain accurate documentation of all requests to disclose information from or to permit access to a student’s education records or of information it discloses and access it permits with some exceptions listed below.  This record will be kept with, but will not be a part of, each student’s Cumulative School Record.  It will be available only to the Superintendent of Schools or their designee, the District records clerk, the eligible student, the parent of the student, or to federal, state, or local officials for the purpose of auditing or enforcing federally supported educational programs.

19.2    The record will include at least:


19.2.1    The name of the person, agency or both that made the request or received information.


19.2.2 The reason/purpose for which the person or agency requested the information.


19.2.3 The date the person or agency made the request.


19.2.4 Whether the request was granted and, if it was, the date access was permitted or the disclosure was made.

19.3    The district will maintain this record as long as it maintains the student’s education record.

19.4 The record will not include the following:


19.4.1 requests for access or access granted to parents of the student or to an eligible student,


19.4.2 requests for access or access granted to officials of the Sevier School District who have a legitimate educational interest in the student,


19.4.3 requests for or disclosures of information contained in the student’s education record if the request is accompanied by the prior written consent of a parent of the student or the eligible student or the disclosure is authorized by such prior consent, 

19.4.4 requests for, or disclosures of directory information designated for that student.

20 Procedures to Seek to Correct Education Records

20.1    Parents of students and eligible students have a right to seek to change any part of the student’s record they believe is inaccurate, misleading or in violation of student rights.  (Note: Under the FERPA, the district may decline to consider a request to change the grade a teacher assigns for a course).

20.2    For the purpose of outlining the procedure to seek to correct education records, the term “incorrect” will be used to describe a record that is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of student privacy rights.  The term “correct” will be used to describe a record that is accurate, not misleading, and not in violation of student privacy rights.  Also, in this section, the term “requester” will be used to describe the parent of a student or the eligible student who is asking the school district to correct a record.  To establish an orderly process to review and correct an education record for a requester, the district may make a decision to comply with the request for change at several levels in the procedure.

21. First level decision:

21.1    When a parent of a student or an eligible student finds an item in the student’s education record which he or she believes is inaccurate, misleading or in violation of student privacy rights, he or she should immediately ask the district records clerk to correct it.  If the record is incorrect because of an obvious error and it is a simple matter to make the record change at this level, the district records clerk will make the correction.  However, if the record is changed at this level, the method and result must satisfy the requester.

21.2    If the district records clerk cannot change the record to the requester’s satisfaction or the record does not appear to be obviously incorrect, he or she will:

21.2.1 Provide the requester a copy of the questioned record at no cost,


21.2.2 Inform the requester that he or she may initiate a written request for the change, and


21.2.3 Follow the procedure for a second level decision.

21.3    Second level decision:

21.3.1    The written request to correct a student’s education record through the procedure at this level should specify the correction the requester wishes the district to make and any evidence or documentation to support the requested change.  It should at least identify the item the requester believes is incorrect and state whether he or she believes the item:

21.3.1.1 Is inaccurate and why


21.3.1.2 Is misleading and why,


21.3.1.3 Violates student privacy rights and why.

21.3.2    The request will be dated and signed by the requester.

21.3.3    Within two weeks after the district records clerk receives a written request, he or she will: study the request, discuss it with other approved school officials (the person who made the record or those who may have a professional concern about the district’s response to the request), make a decision to comply or decline to comply with the request, and complete the appropriate steps to notify the requester or move the request to the next level for a decision.

21.3.4    If, as a result of this review and discussion, the district records clerk decides the record should be corrected, he or she will effect the change and notify the requester in writing of the change.  Each such notice will include an invitation for the requester to inspect and review the student’s education record to make certain the record is in order and the correction is satisfactory.

21.3.5    If the custodian decides the record is correct, he or she will make a written summary of any discussions with other officials and of his or her findings in the matter.  He or she will transmit this summary and copy of the written request to the school superintendent.

22.    Third level decision:

22.1    The superintendent will review the material provided by the district records clerk, and if necessary, discuss the matter with other officials such as the school attorney,
but shall not discuss the matter with members of the school board.  The superintendent will then make a decision concerning the request and complete the steps at this decision level.  The superintendent will notify the requester in writing detailing any delays and a date when the decision may be made.

22.2    If the superintendent decides the record is incorrect and should be changed, he will advise the district records clerk to make the changes.  The district records clerk will advise the requester of the change as he or she would if the change had been made at the second level.

22.3    If the superintendent decides the record is correct he or she will prepare a letter to the requester, which will include:

22.3.1 The school district’s decision that the record is correct and the basis for the decision.

22.3.2 A notice to the requester that he or she has a right to ask for a hearing with the board of education to present evidence that the record is incorrect and that the district will grant such a hearing.

22.3.3 Instructions for the requester to contact the superintendent, or an official he designates, to arrange for a date, time, and place for the hearing with the board of education.

22.3.4 Advice that the requester may be represented or assisted in hearing by other parties, including an attorney at the requester’s expense.

23.    Fourth level decision:

23.1    After the requester has submitted a written request his/her wishes concerning the date, time, and place for the hearing, the superintendent will, within a week, notify the requester when and where the district will hold the hearing.

23.2    At the hearing, the board will provide the requester a full and fair opportunity to present material evidence and testimony to demonstrate that the questioned part of the student’s education record is incorrect as shown in the requester’s written request for a change in the record (second level).  The board’s decision shall be based solely upon the evidence presented at the hearing.

23.3    Within a reasonable time after the hearing, the requester will be furnished with a written copy of the board’s decision.  The board’s written decision shall, in addition to stating what the decision is, provide a summary of the evidence at the hearing and the reasons for the board’s decision.

24.    Following the board’s decision, the superintendent will:

24.1    If the decision is that the district will change the record, the superintendent will instruct the district records clerk to correct the record.  The district records clerk will correct the record and notify the requester as at the second level decision.

24.2    Advise the requester that he or she may place in the student’s education record an explanatory statement which states the reasons he or she disagrees with the school district’s decision and/or the reasons he or she believes the record is incorrect.

25.    Final Administration Step in the Procedure

25.1    When the school district receives an explanatory statement from a requester after a hearing, it will maintain that statement as part of the student’s education record as long as it maintains the questioned part of the record.  The statement will be attached to the questioned part of the record and whenever the questioned part of the record is disclosed, the explanatory statement will also be disclosed.


Approved: 05/02/91
Revised:    02/25/09
Revised:    08/08/12
Revised:    09/10/14
Revised:    05/17/17