Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)
Annual Notification of Rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Notice to Parents and Guardians Regarding the Disclosure of Student “Directory Information”
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law, affords parents, legally emancipated students, and students over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student’s education records.
These rights are briefly summarized below and are explained more fully in the Board’s Student Records Policy which is on file at the school and is available upon request:
The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day The Urban Pathways K-5 College Charter School (the “Charter School”) receives a request for access. Parents or eligible students should submit to the Charter School’s PRINCIPAL a written request that identifies the record’s they wish to inspect. The School official 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 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 the School to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write to the Charter School’s 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 him or her of the 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 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 may include a person employed by the school as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law unit personnel); a person serving on the 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); contractors, consultants, volunteers, and other outside service providers used by the school; 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/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, the School discloses education records without consent to officials of another school, school district, school system, or institution of higher learning in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the 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 SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-4605
Directory Information
Directory information includes information contained in the educational record of a student, which is not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed, so that it may be disclosed without prior parental consent, unless you have advised the School to the contrary in accordance with School procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the School to include this type of information from your child’s education records in certain school-related publications or notices.
As part of the School’s annual notification under FERPA, we designate the following types or categories of information as “directory information”:
Student Name
Participation in officially recognized activities, clubs and sports
Naming of Student to the Honor Roll, National Honor Society or as Valedictorian
Address
Telephone listing
Weight and height of members of athletic teams
Electronic Mail Address
Photograph
Degrees, honors, awards received
Date and place of birth
Major field of study
Dates of attendance
Grade level
The most recent educational agency or institution attended
How and where the School may disclose directory information include disclosing information of the following, by way of example:
Newsletters
A playbill, showing student’s role in a drama production
The annual yearbook
Honor Roll or other recognition lists
Graduation programs
Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing weight and height of team members
Companies or outside organizations that manufacture class rings or yearbooks
Newspapers or other news sources
Class Lists
Staff and/or Student Directories and/or listings
School Website
School Bulletin Boards
Social Media
Organizations conducting studies
Military recruiters requesting directory information
Institutions of Higher Learning requesting directory information
These examples are for illustration only and are not an exclusive list of the manner in which directory information may be disclosed. This notice provides you as a parent or eligible student with an opportunity to object in writing to any or all of those types of information that the School has designated as directory information. You have the right to refuse to permit the release by notifying the School in writing that you do not want any or all of those types of information to be designated as directory information for your child or yourself.
Please submit any refusal with the types of information you wish removed from the list of directory information and email your written objections on or before October 1, 2024, to info@upcsk5.net.
Please note that an opt-out of directory information disclosures does not prevent the School from identifying a student by name or from disclosing a student’s electronic identifier or institutional email address in class. The right to opt out of directory information disclosures does not include a right to remain anonymous in class, and may not be used to impede routine classroom communications and interactions, whether class is held in a specified physical location or online through electronic communications.
If you do not submit a written refusal on or before October 1, 2024, then the School may disclose directory information without your prior consent.
THE CONTENT OF THIS NOTICE HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN STRAIGHTFORWARD, SIMPLE ENGLISH. IF A PERSON DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS NOTICE, HE OR SHE SHOULD ASK THE PRINCIPAL OF THE CHARTER SCHOOL FOR AN EXPLANATION. THE SCHOOL WILL ARRANGE FOR AN INTERPRETER FOR PARENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. IF A PARENT IS DEAF OR BLIND OR HAS NO WRITTEN LANGUAGE, THE SCHOOL WILL ARRANGE FOR COMMUNICATION OF THIS NOTICE IN THE MODE NORMALLY USED BY THE PARENT (E.G., SIGN LANGUAGE, BRAILLE, OR ORAL COMMUNICATION). IF A STUDENT HAS A DISABILITY, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN THE SCHOOL’S ANNUAL PUBLIC NOTICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES AND PROGRAMS AND RIGHTS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.