FERPA
Public Information Requests
To requests records or other District documents, visit the SBISD Purchasing page.
Your Rights Under FERPA
Information on FERPA for SBISD Parents and Students
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law, requires a child's parent or guardian to provide written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from a child's education records. The information also may be disclosed pursuant to a court order.
The court, in Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition v. Robert Scott, et. al. has issued a protective order requiring the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to provide records regarding all public school students in Texas for the 2005-2006 through the 2011-2012 school years to attorneys representing school districts, students and parents in the lawsuit and that the records be kept secure.
TEA is providing the records in compliance with that order. The records WILL NOT INCLUDE student names, addresses, social security numbers, unique identifying identification numbers, the student's date of birth or any other individually identifying information.
The information includes information on standardized test performance, graduation plans, and participation in educational programs such as bilingual education or special education. The information will be used only by the attorneys and their consulting and testifying experts, and anyone who has access to the data is prohibited from attempting to use it to identify individual students. The information will not be used for any other purpose.
TEA is providing the information to attorneys representing the school districts on June 15, 2012. If you do not want TEA to include information from your or your child's education records in the production, you must file an objection in the 250th District Court of Travis County, Judge John Dietz, presiding, by June 13, 2012 at 5 p.m. and provide the reason/s why your child's information should not be included in the production.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students over 18 years of age ("eligible students") certain rights with respect to the student's education records.
These rights are:
(1) The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the School receives a request for access. Parents or eligible students should submit to the School principal [or appropriate school official] 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.
(2) The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA. Parents or eligible students may ask the School to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write the School principal [or appropriate school official], clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. 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 them of their 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.
(3) The right to privacy of personally identifiable information 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 is a person employed by the School as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel); a person serving on the School 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); a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee; or a parent, student, or other volunteer assisting another school official in performing his or 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. [Optional] Upon request, the School discloses education records without consent to officials of another school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. [NOTE: FERPA requires a school district to make a reasonable attempt to notify the parent or student of the records request unless it states in its annual notification that it intends to forward records on request.]
(4) The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the School District to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are: Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202-5901
[NOTE: In addition, a school may want to include its directory information public notice, as required by § 99.37 of the regulations, with its annual notification of rights under FERPA.]