August 2023
Dear Parents:
I am writing to you to inform you the Tri-Valley Board of Education has approved policy concerning the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (“FERPA”). A federal law requires that Tri-Valley Central School District, with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records. This policy is now available on the website.
I have enclosed a copy of the Notice for Directory Information. This outlines the type of information that Tri-Valley is allowed to include in certain school publications.
NOTICE FOR DIRECTORY INFORMATION
The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (“FERPA”), a federal law, requires that Tri-Valley Central School District (“Tri-Valley” or the “District”), with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records. However, Tri-Valley may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless you have advised the District to the contrary in accordance with District procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow Tri-Valley to include this type of information from your child’s education records in certain school publications.
Examples include:
- A playbill, showing your 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;
- Website photos showing students engaged in school and/or extra-curricular activities.
Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent’s prior written consent. Outside organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks. In addition, two federal laws¹ require local educational agencies (“LEAs”) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (“ESEA”) to provide military recruiters, upon request, with three directory information categories – names, addresses and telephone listings – unless parents have advised the LEA that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent.
If you do not want Tri-Valley to disclose directory information from your child’s education records without your prior written consent, you must notify the District in writing by November 3, 2023. Please send it in to your child’s school office. Tri-Valley has designated the following information as directory information:
- Student’s name, address, telephone listing, and electronic mail address;
- Participation in officially recognized activities and sports;
- Photograph;
- Degrees, honors, and awards received;
- Date of birth;
- Major field of study;
- Dates of attendance;
- Grade level.
If you have any additional questions, please contact my office at 985-2296 x 5101.
Sincerely,
Erin P. Long
Superintendent
These laws are Section 9528 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. § 7908), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), the education bill, and 10 U.S.C. § 503, as amended by section 544, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (P.L. 107-107), the legislation that provides funding for the Nation’s armed forces.