Policy 5340

Student Records

Use of Student Records

Reviewed and affirmed by the Board: 
Last Revision: 
Original publish date: 05/25/2010
Related policies & regulations:  4400, 4400-2, 4400-3
Legal references:  Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. ยง 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), 79-2,104, 79-2,105

 

To carry out their responsibilities, school officials have access to student records for legitimate educational purposes. The Lincoln Public Schools will use the following criteria to determine school staff. A school official is:

  1. A person employed by the District as an administrator, supervisor, instructor or support staff member (including health, medical and safety and security staff),
  2. A person serving on the Lincoln Board of Education or a person serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee,
  3. A contractor, consultant, volunteer or other party to whom the District has outsourced institutional services or functions (such as an attorney, a debt collection company or agency, an auditor, medical consultant or therapist and law enforcement unit personnel of the District’s designated law enforcement unit) provided that the outside party (a) performs an institutional service or function for which the District would otherwise use employees; (b) is under the direct control of the District with respect to the use and maintenance of education records; and (c) is subject to the requirements of the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act governing the use and redisclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.

School officials who meet the criteria listed above will have access to a student’s records to the extent they have a legitimate educational interest in doing so. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the school official needs to review or otherwise have access to the student record in order to fulfill their professional, contractual or other responsibilities for the District.

 

Reasonable methods are to be employed to ensure that school officials obtain access to only those education records in which they have legitimate educational interests. Reasonable measures to be employed include physical and technological access controls (for example, maintaining student records in locked cabinets and/or locked offices and, for electronic records, use of passwords and software controls).

 

Employees who access education records that they do not have a legitimate educational interest in accessing, or who allow others to have access to education records that they do not have a legitimate educational interest in accessing, shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. School officials other than employees who engage in such conduct shall be subject to such consequences as are appropriate. Students who engage in such conduct shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion.

 

The Lincoln Public Schools will permit any of its staff to make the needed disclosure from student records in a health or safety emergency if:

  1. There is an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of a student or other individuals,
  2. The disclosure is deemed necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals, taking into account the totality of the circumstances pertaining to the threat, or
  3. The disclosure is to a person whose knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.

Lincoln Public Schools staff may release information from a student’s record if the student’s parent/guardian or the eligible student gives prior written consent for the disclosure.  The written consent must include:

  1. A specification of the records to be released,
  2. The person or the organization or the class of persons or organizations to whom the disclosure is to be made,
  3. The parent/guardian or eligible student’s signature, and
  4. The date of the consent and, if appropriate, a date when the consent is to be terminated.

The student’s parent/guardian or the eligible student may obtain a copy of any records disclosed under this provision.

 

The Lincoln Public Schools will only release information from or permit access to a student’s record with a parent/guardian or eligible student’s prior written consent except that the Superintendent or a person designated in writing by the Superintendent may permit disclosure:

  1. When a student seeks or intends to enroll in another school district or a postsecondary school, the District will not notify parents/guardians or eligible student prior to such a transfer of records. Parents/guardians and eligible students have a right to obtain copies of records transferred under this provision;
  2. When certain Federal and State officials need information in order to audit or enforce legal conditions related to federally-supported educational programs in the District. These officials must provide proper credentials and identify their purpose and the legal basis for allowing them to have access to the records;
  3. To parties who provide or may provide financial aid to a student to:
    1. Establish the student’s eligibility for the aid,
    2. Determine the amount of financial aid,
    3. Establish the conditions for the receipt of the financial aid, or
    4. Enforce the agreement between the provider and the receiver of financial aid;
  4. When the Lincoln Public Schools 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;
  5. To accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions;
  6. To parents/guardians or eligible students if the parents/guardians claim the student as a dependent as defined by the Internal Revenue Code of 1954;
  7. To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.  The District will make a reasonable effort to notify the student’s parents/guardians or the eligible student before making a disclosure under this provision;
  8. If the disclosure is directory information and the student’s parent/guardian or the eligible student has not refused to allow the District to designate that item as directory information for that student; and
  9. Under such circumstances as permitted by law.