Public members have requested information about Parents’ rights in communicating with Bladen County Public Schools and what rights parents, the general public, and students have according to law.
According to Studentprivacy.ed.gov, The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records. The FERPA statute is found at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, and the FERPA regulations are found at 34 CFR Part 99.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, “Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.”
According to nces.ed.gov, the annual notification process must ensure that parents understand that they have the right to:
- inspect and review their child’s record;
- seek to amend the record if they believe it to be inaccurate;
- consent (or not) to disclosures of personally identifiable information; and
- file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning the district’s failures to comply with FERPA. To file a complaint, visit https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/file-a-complaint
When parents (or eligible students) request to review their records, the educational institution must respond within 45 days. During these 45 days, the educational institution cannot destroy any requested documents.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published a guide for first responders and law enforcement on the subject as well.
The CDC published the informational graphic below to explain the difference between FERPA and HIIPA.
Parents Defending Education also reminds the public that, “Public school parents have a vital weapon in their arsenal: the Freedom of Information Act or similar local public records laws.”
The organization encourages parents to, “Exercise your right under your state’s Freedom of Information Act and public records laws to get documents related to your issue of concern. Public school records available include emails from the email addresses of public school officials (including principals, school board members, teachers, staff, and anyone with a school email address). Also available are contracts, curriculum, trainings, videos, text messages and other records that provide valuable information about events, classes and other issues that may cause you concern.”
The Freedom of Information Act is a Federal Act, but each state also has its own Freedom of Information statutes.
In North Carolina, anyone can request public records from the public school system.
Nfoic.org explains the North Carolina Records law and has a template letter for requesting public records.
Watch the YouTube Video linked below to find out more about the Freedom of Information Act.
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