SUCCESS Academy will be referred to as the “School District” or the “District” in the following declaration.
Directory Information: Student information contained in an education record that would not (generally) be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Directory Information is declared by the school district, is applicable to all schools and students within the district, and identifies the specific student data elements that may be disclosed by a school or the school district for purposes of student recognition, student participation in an activity, or for various student listings such as yearbook and graduation.
Rather than requiring consent from every parent and for every situation where student data is disclosed, FERPA has defined Directory Information as the authority for disclosing student information for school, district, or student functions and purposes. (For example, a teacher who is awarded a classroom grant may be required to provide participating students’ names and grade level to the grant sponsor, for reporting measures of participation and achievement. Because these student data elements are defined as Directory Information, and the grant is for school or district purposes, parental consent is not required for disclosing this data to the grant sponsor.)
Directory Information also provides protection by limiting the types of data that can be disclosed. Information such as social security numbers, family income, criminal history or other information, that could potentially be harmful to a student or parent, must not be included in Directory Information and cannot be disclosed.
Parents do have the right to opt-out their student from Directory Information. While this option is declared under FERPA and supported by the district, there are reasons why opting out may not be recommended or encouraged.
The following student Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”) may be designated by the school district as Directory Information, and may be disclosed by school officials without consent:
Opting-out a student from Directory Information limits student opportunities, as it prohibits the school and district from disclosing any student PII from the list above, except for student records and state reporting. The student would not be included in the school yearbook. The student would not be eligible to participate in a school or district activity or participate on an athletic team. The student would not be listed on an honor roll, and would be excluded from graduation lists and notifications of diploma.
Opting out from Directory Information does not prohibit outlets such as newspapers and social media from obtaining and reporting student information received through other sources.
An opt-out request covers the duration of the current school year and must be renewed each year. The opt-out will apply to all (PII) listed above (there is not an option to opt-out of some PII, but remain opted-in for others).
FERPA defines an eligible student as a student who has reached 18 years of age or is attending a postsecondary institution at any age. This means that, at the secondary level, once a student turns 18, all the rights that once belonged to his or her parents, transfer to the student.
Should a parent elect to opt-out their student from Directory Information (or if an eligible student chose to opt-out from Directory Information), the parent (or eligible student) must state this request to the school principal in writing. This request must be completed in the presence of the school principal, and must use the district Directory Information Opt-Out Request form, which can be found HERE. (Contact your student’s school to receive further instruction of the process of opting-out from Directory Information.)
Parents (and eligible students) will have ten (10) days from the beginning of the school year, or from the date a transfer student enrolls into the school district, to advise the student’s principal of their intent to opt-out of Directory Information, and to provide the written request. After ten (10) days, the request will not be approved.
Upon notice from branches of Military and from Institutions of Higher Education, a school may also routinely disclose Names, Addresses, and Telephone Numbers to the recruiters of these organizations. Parents of students (or, if an eligible student age 18 or older) may opt-out from information disclosures to recruiters of military and institutes of higher education (*Important: Opting-out from military and higher education disclosures is a separate process from opting out of Directory Information; for military and higher education opt-outs, please send an email request to dataoptout@ironmail.org to receive additional instruction for completing this opt-out request).
