Notice of Rights Under FERPA for Elementary and Secondary Students in the Columbia Borough School District.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) extends certain rights with respect to the student’s education records. They are:

The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the date the District receives a request for access.

Parents or eligible students (students over 18 years of age) should submit to the school principal or other appropriate school official a written request that identifies the records they wish to inspect. The principal will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible students of the time and place where the records may be inspected. Parents or eligible students may make notes from the record or may request copies at 25 cents per copy.

Parents or eligible students may ask the Columbia Borough 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 District decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the District will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing regarding their request for the 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 education records, except to the extend 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 District 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 District has contracted to perform a specific 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 task). A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an educational record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

Under request, the District discloses educational records without consent to officials of another district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

The right to file a complaint with the United States Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the District to comply with the requirement 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, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605