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Introduction
The origination and maintenance of appropriate student records are essential to the effective operation of the
District and meeting the educational interests of students. The rights and responsibilities of students, parents, and
the District with respect to student records are governed by State and Federal law. This administrative guideline is
intended to satisfy the educational goals and responsibilities of the District consistent with the requirements of
Federal and State laws applicable to student records.
Definitions
A. "Record" means any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual, or electromagnetic information
is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristics.
B. "Student records" include all records relating to an individual student, regardless of format, other than: 1)
notes or records maintained for personal use by teachers or other personnel required to hold certification by
the Department, provided those notes or records are not available to others; 2) records necessary for and
available only to persons involved in the psychological treatment of a student; and 3) law enforcement unit
records. The District is required, however, to maintain the confidentiality of law enforcement unit records in
the same manner as a law enforcement agency is required to treat the records of juveniles under Section
938.396(1) to (1x) and (5).
C. "Progress records" are student records that include a statement of courses taken by the student, the
student's grades, the student's immunization records, the student's attendance record, any lead screening
records required under 254.162, Wis. Stats. and records of the student's extra-curricular activities.
D. "Behavioral records" include student record other than progress records and directory data. Examples
include: standardized achievement tests, psychological tests, personality evaluations, records of
conversations, written statements relating specifically to an individual student's behavior, tests relating
specifically to achievement or measurement of ability, student physical health records other than his/her
immunization records, and law enforcement records.
E. "Student physical health records" include basic health information about a student, including the student's
immunization records, an emergency medical card, a log of first aid and medicine administered to the
student, an athletic permit card, a record concerning the student's ability to participate in an education
program, the results of any routine screening test such as for hearing, vision, or scoliosis, and any follow-up
to such test, and any other basic health information as determined by the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
F. "Law enforcement unit" means any individual, office, department, division, or other component of a school
district that is authorized or designated by the school board to do any of the following:
1. Enforce any law or ordinance, or refer to the appropriate authorities a matter for enforcement of any law
or ordinance, against any person other than the school district.
2. Maintain the physical security and safety of a public school.
G. "Law enforcement unit records" means records maintained by a law enforcement unit that were created by
that law enforcement unit for the purpose of law enforcement.
H. "Court records" include those records received from a court clerk concerning a juvenile enrolled in the District
who: 1) has had a petition filed with the court alleging that s/he has committed a delinquent act that would be
a felony if committed by an adult; 2) has been adjudged delinquent; 3) has school attendance as a condition
of his/her court dispositional order; or 4) has been found to have committed a delinquent act, at the request of
or for the benefit of a criminal gang, that would be a felony if committed by an adult and has been adjudged
delinquent on that basis.
I. "Student patient records" include all those records relating to a student's physical health except those
included in the "student physical health records" definition above.
J. "Directory data" includes those student records which identify a student's name, address, telephone number,
date of birth, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of
athletic teams, dates of attendance, photographs, name of school most recently previously attended and
degrees and awards received.
K. "Law enforcement officers' records" includes those records and other information obtained from a law
enforcement agency relating to: 1) the use, possession, or distribution of alcohol or a controlled substance
by a student enrolled in the District; 2) the illegal possession of a dangerous weapon by a child; 3) an act for
which a District student was taken into custody based on the law enforcement officer’s belief that the student
violated or was violating certain specified laws; and 4) the act for which a juvenile enrolled in the District was
adjudged delinquent. The law enforcement agency may provide such record information to the District
on its own initiative or on the request of the Superintendent or designee, subject to the agency’s official
policy. Once the record information is received, the student named in the records and the parent/guardian of
any minor student named in the records shall be notified on the information.
Confidentiality
A. Access to Student Progress and Behavior Records
All student progress and behavioral records maintained by the School District shall be confidential with
access limited to the conditions below
1. Upon request, an eligible student or the parent/guardian of a minor student shall be shown and provided
with a copy of the student's progress records.
2. Upon request, an eligible student or the parent/guardian of a minor student shall be shown the student's
behavioral records in the presence of a person qualified to explain and interpret the records.
3. The judge of any court of Wisconsin or of the United States shall, upon request, be provided with a copy
of all progress records of a student who is the subject of any proceeding in such court. The District
shall make a reasonable effort to notify the parent/guardian or eligible student of the order in advance of
compliance therewith, except as otherwise provided by law.
4. Student records shall be made available to school officials who have been determined by the Board to
have legitimate educational interests, including safety interests, in such records. A "School Official" is a
person employed by the District who is required by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to hold a
license; a person who is employed by or working on behalf of the District as an administrator,
supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and police-school
liaison personnel); a person serving on the 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/her tasks. A school official has a "legitimate
educational interest" if the official needs to review a student record in order to fulfill his/her professional
or District responsibility.
a. If law enforcement officers’ record information obtained by the District relates to a District student,
the information shall be disclosed only to those employees who are required by the DPI to hold a
license and to other school officials who have been determined by the Board to have a legitimate
educational interest, including safety interest, in the information. It shall also be disclosed to
those District employees who have been designated by the Board to receive that information for
the purpose of providing treatment programs for District students. The information may not be
used as the sole basis for suspending or expelling a student from school, or as the sole basis
for taking any other disciplinary action against a student, including action under the District's
athletic code.
b. Court order records obtained by the District must be disclosed to District employees who work
directly with the juvenile named in the records or who have been determined by the Board to have
legitimate educational eAn employee cannot further disclose the information, and the information
cannot be used as the sole basis for suspending or expelling a student from school.
5. Upon the written permission of an eligible student or parent/guardian of a minor student, the school shall
make available to the person named in the permission form the student's progress records or such
portion of his/her behavioral records as determined by the person authorizing the release. Law
enforcement records may not be made available under this exception unless specifically identified by
the eligible student or by the parent/guardian of a minor student in the written permission form.
6. Student records shall be provided to a court in response to a subpoena by parties to an action for in
camera inspection, to be used only for purposes of impeachment of any witness who has testified in the
action and only after the moving party has made a showing to the court that the records are likely to
yield such information that could not be otherwise obtained. The court may turn the records or parts
thereof over to parties in the action or their attorneys if the court determines that the records or parts
thereof are relevant and material to a witness's credibility or competency. The District shall make a
reasonable effort to notify the parents/guardians or eligible student of the subpoena in advance of
disclosure except as otherwise provided by law.
7. Information required by law may be provided to the DPI or any public officer. Upon request, the Board
shall provide the DPI with any student record information that relates to an audit or evaluation of a
Federal or State-supported program or that is required to determine compliance with State law
provisions.
8. Notwithstanding their confidential status, student records may be used in suspension and expulsion
proceedings and by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team in accordance with State and
Federal law.
9. The district board of the technical college in which the school is located, the Department of Health and
Family Services, the Department of Workforce Development, or a county department verifying eligibility
for public assistance shall, upon request, be provided with the names of students who have withdrawn
from the school prior to graduation.
10. Information from a student's immunization record shall be made available to State and local health
officials to carry out immunization requirements.
11. Personally identifiable information from the student records of an eligible student may be disclosed to
the parent of the eligible student without the written consent of the eligible student if the eligible student
is a dependent of his/her parent for tax purposes (under the Federal Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C.
152). This may be done unless the eligible student has informed the school, in writing, that the
information may not be disclosed.
12. A student's records shall be disclosed in compliance with a court order under Wisconsin's delinquency
statutes after a reasonable effort has been made to notify the student's parent/guardian.
13. The District shall provide to the court, in response to a court order, the names of all persons known by
the District to be dropouts and who reside within the county in which the circuit court or the
municipality court is located.
14. Annually, on or before August 15 services boards established under Sections 51.42 and 51.437 the
names of students who reside in the District, who are sixteen (16) years of age or older, who are not
expected to be enrolled in an educational program two (2) years from the date of the report and who
may require services under Sections 51.42 or 51.437 (community mental health, development
disabilities, alcoholism, and drug abuse).
15. If school attendance is a condition of a student's dispositional order under Section 48.355(2)(b)7 or
938.358(2), the Board shall notify the county department that is responsible for supervising the student
within five (5) days after any violation of the condition by the student.
16. A law enforcement agency shall be provided a copy of a student's attendance record if the law
enforcement agency certifies in writing that the student is under investigation for truancy or for allegedly
committing a criminal or delinquent act and that the law enforcement agency will not further disclose
the student's attendance record information except as permitted by law. When a student's attendance
record is disclosed to a law enforcement agency for purposes of truancy, the student's parent/guardian
shall be notified of that disclosure as soon as practicable after the disclosure.
17. A fire investigator shall be provided with a copy of a student's attendance record if the fire investigator
certifies in writing that the student is under investigation for arson, that the attendance record is
necessary for the investigation and that the records will be used and further disclosed only for the
purpose of pursuing the investigation.
18. The District shall provide student disciplinary records necessary for purposes of student enrollment in
another public or private school district in this State or any other as permitted by law. These records
may include:
a. A copy of any expulsion findings and orders or records of any pending disciplinary proceedings
involving the students;
b. A written explanation of the reasons for the expulsion or pending disciplinary proceedings;
c. The length of the term of the expulsion or the possible outcomes of the pending disciplinary
proceedings.
19. The District may disclose student records to appropriate parties, e.g. law enforcement officials, or
health care workers, in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to
protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.
B. Access to Directory Data
Except as otherwise provided below, directory information may be disclosed to any person after the school
has: 1) notified the parent, legal guardian or guardian ad litem of the categories of information which it has
designated as directory information with respect to each student; 2) informed such persons that they have
fourteen (14) days to inform the school that all or any part of the directory information may not be released
without their prior consent; and 3) has allowed fourteen (14) days for the parents, legal guardian, or guardian
ad litem of any student to inform the school, in writing, that all or any part of the directory information may
not be released. At the end of this fourteen (14) day period, each student's records will be appropriately
marked by the records' custodian(s) to indicate directory data items, if any, the District must receive parental
permission to release. This designation will remain in effect until it is modified by the written direction of the
student's parent, guardian, or guardian ad litem.
1. The custodian of student records shall not release directory information to any person or company to be
used for commercial or business purposes.
2. If the District has followed the notification procedure outlined above, and the parent, legal guardian, or
guardian ad litem does not object to the directory information being released, the Board Clerk (or
designee) shall, upon request, provide the name and address of each student expected to graduate
from high school in the current school year to the technical college board.
3. If the District has followed the notification procedure outlined above, and the parent, legal guardian, or
guardian ad litem does not object to the directory information being released, the Board Clerk (or
designee) shall, upon request, provide any representative of any law enforcement agency, city attorney,
district attorney, or cooperation counsel, county department under Sections 46.215 or 46.22 or 46.23, a
court of record or municipal court with such directory information relating to any such student enrolled in
the School District for the purpose of enforcing that student's school attendance, to respond to a health
or safety emergency, or to aid in the investigation of alleged criminal or delinquent activity by a student
enrolled in the District.
4. If the District has followed the notification procedure outlined above, and the parent, legal guardian or
guardian ad litem does not object to the directory information being released, the Board Clerk (or
designee) shall, upon request, provide any military recruiter or institution of higher education with the
name, address, and telephone number of the student. (Only secondary schools are required to provide
this information to military recruiters or institutions of higher education.)
C. Access to Student Patient Records
All student patient records shall remain confidential. They may be released only to persons specifically
designated by State or Federal law or to other persons with the informed consent of the patient or person
authorized by the patient. Student patient records maintained by the District may only be released without
informed consent to a District employee or agent if any of the following apply:
1. The employee or agent has responsibility for the preparation or storage of patient health records.
2. Access to patient health records is necessary to comply with a requirement in Federal or State law.
Any record that concerns the results of a test for the presence of HIV or antibody to HIV (the virus
which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome--AIDS) shall be confidential and may be disclosed
only with the informed written consent of the test subject.
D. Disclosure of Personal Information for Purposes of Marketing or Selling Information
The Board shall not permit the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students
for the purpose of marketing or for selling that information (or otherwise providing that information to others for
that purpose).
E. Disclosure of Educational Records to a Third-Party
The District will inform in writing any third-party to whom personally identifiable information is released that,
except as otherwise permitted by State or Federal law, the party is not allowed to disclose the information to
others without the written consent of the student's parents or the student, provided the student is an adult.
F. Disclosure of Library Records to Parents
See Policy 2416.01 Parental Access to Library Records
G. Interagency Agreement to Disclose Student Records
Pursuant to Section 118.125, Wis. Stats., the District has entered into an interagency agreement(s) with the
entities listed below to disclose student records before adjudication for the purpose of providing services to
the student. Each of the entities has certified in writing that the records will not be disclosed to any other
person, except as permitted by law.
Maintenance of Records
A. Except as otherwise specifically provided, all student records will be kept in one (1) file in the school building
in which the student is enrolled. This file will be kept in a locked file or drawer under the control of the building
principal. Law enforcement and student patient records shall be maintained separately from a student's other
records.
B. Copies of records of any student referred for a suspected disability will be maintained in the Pupil Service
Office in addition to the school file. Copies of all student physical health records also will be maintained at
the Pupil Services Office.
C. Requests for access to, or copies of, student records will be referred to the building principal for action.
Student records shall be released only to the extent authorized by law.
D. A record of each request for access to and each disclosure of personally identifiable information from a
student's school records shall be maintained with such student's records, except when the request is from or
the disclosure is to the following person/party:
1. The parent/guardian or eligible student
2. A school official
3. A party with written consent from the parent/guardian or eligible student
4. A party seeking directory information
5. A party seeking or receiving the records as directed by a Federal grand jury or other law enforcement
subpoena and the issuing court or other issuing agency has ordered that the existence or the contents
of the subpoena or the information in response to the subpoena not be disclosed
E. Records of students who cease to be enrolled shall be maintained as follows:
1. All behavioral records will be destroyed one (1) year after the date the student graduated from or last
attended the school unless the student, or his/her parent/guardian if the student is a minor, gives
permission that the records be maintained for a longer period of time. Where such written permission is
received, behavioral records will be destroyed after the time specified in the permission form or at the
discretion of the District when they are of no further obvious use.
2. Progress records will be kept five (5) years after the date the student graduated from or last attended
the school, except a record of grades and attendance is to be kept permanently.
3. Records of psychological testing or special education evaluations, including all individual reports, will be
maintained for one (1) year after a student transfers out of the District. Upon written permission of an
eligible student or the parent or legal guardian of a minor student, such records will be maintained for up
to five (5) years.
Amendment of Records
A. A parent/guardian or an eligible student who believes that the school records collected, maintained, or used
are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of the student may request the
District to amend the records. The District will decide whether to amend the information in accordance with
the request within a reasonable period of time of receipt of the request.
B. If the District decides to refuse to amend the information in accordance with the request, it will inform the
parent/guardian or eligible student of the refusal and advise him/her of the right to a hearing before the Board
of Education. On request, the District shall provide an opportunity for a hearing to challenge information in
school records to ensure that it is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of
the student.
C. If, as a result of the hearing, the District decides that the information is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise
in violation of the privacy rights of the student, it shall amend the information accordingly and so inform the
parent/guardian or eligible student in writing.
D. If, as a result of the hearing, the District decides that the information is not inaccurate, misleading or
otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of the student, it shall inform the parent/ guardian or eligible
student of the right to place in the records it maintains on the student, a statement commenting on the
information or setting forth any reasons for disagreeing with the decision of the District.
The District shall require that any explanation placed in the records of a student be maintained by the District
as part of the records as long as the record or contested portion is maintained by the District. If the records
of the student, or the contested portion, are disclosed by the District to any party, the explanation shall also
be disclosed to that party.
Transfer of Records
All student records relating to a specific student shall be transferred to another school or school district within five
(5) work days upon receipt of written notice from:
A. An eligible student, or the parent/guardian of a minor student, that the student intends to enroll in the other
school or school district;
B. The other school or school district in which the student has enrolled;
C. A court, in the event that a student has been placed in a juvenile correctional facility or secured child caring
institution.
"School" or "School District" in this section includes any secured correctional facility, secured group home, adult
correctional institution, mental health institution, or center for the developmentally disabled, that provide an
educational program for its residents instead of or in addition to that which is provided by public and private
schools.
Alleged Noncompliance with Federal Requirements
Eligible students or parents/guardians of minor students may file a complaint for alleged District noncompliance
with requirements of the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) with: Family Policy
Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202-4605
and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).
Annual Public Notice
Parents/guardians and student shall be notified annually of the following: 1) their rights to inspect, review and
obtain copies of student records; 2) their rights to request the amendment of the student's school records if they
believe the records are inaccurate or misleading; 3) their rights to consent to the disclosure of the student's school
records, except to the extent State and Federal law authorizes disclosure without consent; 4) the categories of
student record information which have been designated as directory data and their right to deny the release of such
information; and 5) their right to file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office of the U.S. Department
of Education. This notice shall be published in the District's official newspaper within three (3) weeks of the start of
the school year. It shall also be published annually in District student-parent handbooks.
For students enrolling in the District after the above notice has been given, the notice will be given to the eligible
student and his/her parent/guardian at the time and place of enrollment.
115.812, 118.125, 118.127, 118.163, 938.396, Wis. Stats.
34 C.F.R. Part 99
20 U.S.C. 1232f through 1232i
20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.
20 U.S.C. 7908
26 U.S.C. 152
Approved/Adopted: July 13, 2009 |
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