Notice Regarding Student Educational Records

TO STUDENTS AND PARENTS:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and eligible students when they reach 18 years of age certain rights with respect to the student's educational records. They are:

• The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the Division receives a request for access. Parent or eligible student should submit to NNPS a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The NNPS will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.

• The right to request NNPS to amend the student's educational record that the parent or eligible student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy. Parents or eligible students should write the school principal, clearly identifying the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.

  If the Division decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the Division 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.

• The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's educational record, except where 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 Division 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 Division 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 order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
  • Upon request, the Division discloses education records without consent to officials of another school division in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. An accurate and complete educational record is maintained on each student enrolled in the public schools of Newport News. This student educational record contains information such as home address, birth date, scholastic work completed, level of achievement, standardized test scores, attendance and health information. Additional information is maintained in the student educational record for students who require differentiated programs and/or special services.

• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the Division to comply with the requirements of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is:

  Family Policy Compliance Office
  US Department of Education
  400 Maryland Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC 20202-4605

Student educational records are located in the schools. Additional copies of some records are located in the Central Records Department at the Central Administration Building on Warwick Boulevard.

The Superintendent of Schools or designee, whose office is located at 12465 Warwick Boulevard, is responsible for the maintenance of all student records. Except in emergency situations, compliance with law enforcement judicial orders and subpoenas, or for educational purposes consistent with the regulations of the state school board, disclosure of information from a student's educational record is made only with the consent of the parent or eligible student (when he/she reaches 18 years of age).

In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), both parents, custodial and non-custodial, have equal access to student information unless the school has evidence of a court order revoking these rights. When students reach the age of 18 years or when they become students at post secondary education institutions, they become "eligible students" and rights under FERPA transfer to them; however, parents retain access to student records of children who are their dependents for tax purposes.

Student educational records are retained at the last school enrolled or the Central Records Department at the Central Administration Building for students who require differentiated programs and/or special services for 5 years after a student graduates, completes a Board of Education-adopted program, or leaves school (withdraws). Permanent record retention is maintained in accordance with the State Board of Education's regulations and guidelines, the Code of Virginia and the Records Management Division of the Library of Virginia, which manages the retention and destruction of all public agency records. NNPS will shred all material that is no longer educationally useful at the end of the 5-year period. If parents wish to review and/or have a copy of this data, they must contact the individual schools or Central Records Department before the end of the retention period. Personally identifiable information in a student's educational record may be classified as Directory Information. Such information on students is not released or made public, but may be disclosed on accordance with the School Board's written policy on the management of student records, available from the school principal.

A fee, established by the school division not to exceed the cost of reproduction, will be charged for copying information in the student educational record. No fee is charged for search and retrieval, for copies of the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) or health and immunization records. Official copies of student educational records will be sent to the receiving schools or transfer students at no charge. Unofficial copies of student educational records will be give at $0.10 per page. The first copy of the transcript is requested by a high school student (for college, employer, etc.) will be free. All other copies of the transcript will be made at a charge of $2.00 per transcript. This includes official and unofficial copies.