Policy 5360

Student Records

Directory Information

Reviewed and affirmed by the Board:  2025-06-24
Last Revision: 2025-06-24
Original publish date: 2012-04-10
Related policies & regulations:  
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

 

The District may disclose directory information without a parent’s prior written consent. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the District to include information from your child’s education records in certain school publications. Examples may include: a playbill for a drama production, the annual yearbook, honor roll or other recognition lists, graduation programs, and sports activity sheets. 

Under FERPA, “directory information” means information contained in an education record of a student which: (1) would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed and (2) the recipients are community members, community organizations, and LPS-related persons or organizations involved in educational, health, service, or other programs which may provide a benefit to the students, staff, parents, or student’s guardians of the District, or to the mission of the District, as well as to such recipients to whom the law requires the disclosure of the information. The Lincoln Public Schools designates the following personally identifiable information contained in a student’s record as “directory information.” 

Directory information includes, but is not limited to:

  1. Student’s name, address, telephone listing and the name, address, telephone listings (if not unlisted), cell phone numbers, e-mail address and work or other contact information of the student’s parent/guardian or other adult acting in loco parentis or with authority to act as parent or guardian in educational matters for the student,
  2. School and dates of enrollment,
  3. Student’s current grade,
  4. Student’s enrollment status (e.g., full-time or part-time),
  5. Student’s age
  6. Student’s extracurricular participation,
  7. Student’s achievement awards or honors,
  8. Student’s weight and height if a member of an athletic team,
  9. Student’s photograph.

Place of birth will be considered to be directory information only if the requester establishes an appropriate need for such information.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the District does not designate as directory information personally identifiable information from students’ education records where the District determines that the disclosure to the potential recipient poses a risk to student safety or wellbeing and the personally identifiable information would permit the potential recipient to communicate with or otherwise contact the student, or would otherwise not be in a student's best interests.

Directory information also includes:

  1. A student ID number, user ID or other unique personal identifier used by a student for purposes of accessing or communicating in electronic systems, but only if the identifier cannot be used to gain access to education records except when used in conjunction with one or more factors that authenticate the user’s identify, such as a personal identification number (PIN), password or other factor known or possessed only by the authorized user; and
  2. A student ID number or other unique personal identifier that is displayed on a student ID badge, but only if the identifier cannot be used to gain access to education records except when used in conjunction with one or more factors that authenticate the user’s identity, such as a PIN, password or other factor known or possessed only by the authorized user.

Directory information may not be disclosed or confirmed without the written consent of the parent/guardian or eligible student (a student age 18 or older) non-directory information is used alone or combined with other data elements to identify or help identify the student or the student’s records.  As such, directory information may not be disclosed without the written consent if the release of such information would have the effect of disclosing non-directory information.

This information will be disclosed under the following provisions:

  1. At the beginning of each school year, the Lincoln Public Schools will publish the above list, or a revised list, of the items of directory information it proposes to designate as directory information.  For students enrolling after the notice is published, the list will be given to the student’s parent/guardian or the eligible student at the time and place of enrollment.
  2. A parent/guardian or eligible student may submit a written request (available on the Student Services webpage) to the school district that their child’s directory information not be released without prior written consent of the parent/guardian or eligible student.  Upon receiving such request, Lincoln Public Schools will not release the routine directory information of such student without the prior written consent of the parent/guardian or eligible student.  A parent/guardian or eligible student may not opt out of directory information disclosures to prevent the District from disclosing or requiring a student to disclose the student’s name, identifier or institutional e-mail address in a class in which the student is enrolled; or to prevent the District from requiring a student to wear, to display publicly or to disclose a student ID card or badge that exhibits information that may be designated as directory information and that has been properly designated by the District as directory information in the annual FERPA notice.

Appeals. In the case of a denial of a request for student records, the person or entity whose request was denied may appeal as follows:

  1.  The appealing party may first appeal to the Director of Student Services. The appeal must be made within 14 calendar days from the date of the initial denial of the records request. The appeal shall be in writing and shall be decided on the basis of the written submission. The Director may request the appealing party to provide further explanation or information and the appeal may be denied in the event the appealing party fails to fully respond in a timely basis. The Director or designee shall decide the appeal within 14 calendar days of the request.
  2.  The appealing party may next appeal to the Associate Superintendent for Educational Services. Any such appeal must be submitted to the Associate Superintendent within 14 calendar days from the date of the Director’s denial. The Associate Superintendent or designee shall decide the appeal within 14 calendar days of the submission of the appeal.
  3.  The appealing party may next appeal to a committee of the Board. Any such appeal must be submitted to the Associate Superintendent within 14 calendar days from the date of the Associate Superintendent’s denial. The Board committee may establish such rules and procedures as it deems necessary.

At each appeal step, the deadline for a decision may be extended in the event good reason for delay exists.