Student Records Policy

STUDENT RECORDS (M)

 

8330

 

The Board of Education believes that information about individual students must be compiled and maintained in the interest of the student’s educational welfare and advancement.  The Board will strive to balance the student’s right to privacy against the district’s need to collect, retain, and use information about individual students and groups of students.  The Board authorizes the establishment and maintenance of student files that include only those records mandated by law, rules of the State Board of Education, authorized administrative directive, and those records permitted by this Board.

 

The Superintendent shall prepare, present to the Board for approval, and distribute regulations that implement this Policy and conform to applicable State and Federal law and rules of the State Board of Education.

 

General Considerations

 

The Board shall compile and maintain student records and regulate access in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. §1232g, and 34 CFR Part 99, disclosure, or communication of information contained in student records in a manner that assures the security of the records in accordance with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7 et seq.  Student records shall contain only information that is relevant to the education of the student and is objectively based on the personal observations or knowledge of the certified school personnel who originate(s) the record.  The district shall provide annual, written notification to parents, adult students, and emancipated minors of their rights in regard to student records and student participation in educational, occupational, and military recruitment programs.  Copies of the applicable State and Federal laws and Board policies shall be made available upon request.  The district shall make every effort to notify parents and adult students in their dominant language. 

 

Nonadult students may assert rights of access only through their parent(s).  However, nothing in N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7 shall be construed to prohibit certified school personnel from disclosing at their discretion student records to nonadult students or to appropriate persons in connection with an emergency, if the information contained in the record is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other persons.

 

No liability shall be attached to any member, officer, or employee of the Board permitting access or furnishing student records in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7 et seq.

 

Student Information Directory

 

A student information directory is a publication of the Board that includes information relating to a student as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:32-2.1.  This information includes:  name; grade level; date and place of birth; dates of school attendance; major field of study; participation in officially recognized activities; weight and height relating to athletic team membership; degrees; awards; the most recent educational agency attended by the student; and other similar information.  The student information directory shall be used only by authorized district personnel and for designated official use by judicial, law enforcement, and medical personnel and not for general public consumption.

 

In the event the district publishes a student information directory, the Superintendent or designee will provide a parent or adult student a ten-day period to submit to the Superintendent a written statement prohibiting the inclusion of any or all types of information about the student in any student information directory before allowing access to the directory and school facilities to educational, occupational, and military recruiters pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:36-19.1, P.L. 114-95 §8528, and 20 U.S.C. §8528 - Armed Forces Recruiter Access to Students and Student Recruiting Information of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015.  In accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:36-19.1, military recruiters will be provided the same access to a student information directory that is provided to educational and occupational recruiters. 

 

School Contact Directory for Official Use

 

A school contact directory for official use is a compilation by the district that includes the following information for each student:  name; address; telephone number; date of birth; and school enrollment.  The district shall compile and maintain a school contact directory for official use in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.2, that is separate and distinct from the student information directory.  The student contact directory may be provided for official use only to judicial and law enforcement personnel, and to medical personnel currently providing services to the student in question.  To exclude any information from the school contact directory for official use the parent, adult student, or emancipated minor shall notify the Superintendent or designee in writing.

 

Mandated and Permitted Student Records

 

Mandated student records are those records districts have been directed to compile by State statute, regulations, or authorized administrative directive in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.3.

 

Permitted student records are those student records not mandated pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.3, but authorized by the Board to promote the student’s educational welfare.  The Board shall authorize the permitted records to be collected by adopting this Policy and Regulation 8330, which will list such permitted records.

 

Maintenance and Security of Student Records

 

The Superintendent or designee shall be responsible for the security of student records maintained in the district in accordance with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.4.  This Policy and Regulation 8330 assure that access to student records is limited to authorized persons.

 

Records for each individual student may be stored electronically or in paper format.  When student records are stored electronically, proper security and   back-up procedures shall be administered.

 

Student health records, whether stored on paper or electronically, shall be maintained in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.1(l).  Records shall be accessible during the hours in which the school program is in operation.

 

Any district website shall not disclose any personally identifiable information about a student in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:36-35 and N.J.A.C. 6A:32-2.1.

 

Access to Student Records

 

Only authorized organizations, agencies, or persons as defined in N.J.A.C.  6A:32-7.5 shall have access to student records, including student health records.  Access to student records shall be provided to persons authorized such access under N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.1 et seq. within ten days of a request, but prior to any review or hearing conducted in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A.

 

The district may charge a reasonable fee for reproduction of student records, not to exceed the schedule of costs set forth at N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5, provided that the cost does not effectively prevent parents or adult students from exercising their rights under N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7 or other Federal and State rules and regulations regarding students with disabilities, including N.J.A.C. 6A:14.

 

The district shall control access to, disclosure of, and communication regarding information contained in student health records to assure access only to people permitted by Federal and State statute and regulations in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.5(c).

 

Access to and disclosure of a student’s health record shall meet the requirements of FERPA.

 

Only authorized organizations, agencies, or persons as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.5 shall have access to student records, including student health records.

 

Nothing in N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7 et seq. or in this Policy and Regulation 8330 shall be construed to prohibit school personnel from disclosing information contained in the student health record to students or adults in connection with an emergency, if such knowledge is necessary to protect the immediate health or safety of the student or other persons.

 

In complying with N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7 – Student Records, the district shall adhere to requirements pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10, the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and FERPA.

 

Conditions for Access to Student Records

 

All authorized organizations, agencies, and persons defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7 et seq. shall have access to a student record, subject to conditions outlined in N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.6.

 

Rights of Appeal for Parents and Adult Students

 

Student records are subject to challenge by parents and adult students on the grounds of inaccuracy, irrelevancy, impermissible disclosure, inclusion of improper information, or denial of access to organizations, agencies, and persons in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.7(a). 

 

To request a change in the student record or to request a stay of disclosure pending final determination of the challenged procedure, the parent or adult student shall follow the procedures pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.7(b).

 

Appeals relating to student records for students with disabilities shall be processed in accordance with the requirements of N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.7(c).

 

Regardless of the outcome of any appeal, a parent or adult student shall be permitted to place in the student record a statement commenting upon the information in the student record or setting forth any reasons for contesting a portion of the student record, including the decision made in the appeal.  The parent’s or adult student’s statement shall be maintained as part of the student record, as long as the contested portion of the student record is maintained.  If the contested portion of the record is disclosed to any party, the statement commenting upon the information shall also be disclosed to that party.

 

Retention and Disposal of Student Records

 

A student record is considered to be incomplete and not subject to the provisions of the Destruction of Public Records Law, N.J.S.A. 47:3-15 et seq., while the student is enrolled in the district.  The Board shall retain the student health record and the health history and immunization record according to the School District Records Retention Schedule, as determined by the New Jersey State Records Committee.

 

Student records of currently enrolled students, other than the records described in N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.8(f), may be disposed of after the information is no longer necessary to provide educational services to a student and in accordance with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.8(c).

 

Upon graduation or permanent departure of a student from the district, the parent or adult student shall be notified in writing that a copy of the entire student record will be provided to them upon request.  Information in student records, other than that described in N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.8(f), may be disposed of, but only in accordance with the Destruction of Public Records Law, N.J.S.A. 47:3-15 et seq.  Such disposition shall be in accordance with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.8(c)2.

 

No additions shall be made to the record after graduation or permanent departure without the prior written consent of the parent or adult student.

 

In accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.8(f), the district of last enrollment, graduation, or permanent departure of the student from the district shall keep for 100 years, a mandated record of a student’s name, date of birth, name of parents, gender, health history and immunization, standardized assessment results, grades, attendance, classes attended, grade level completed, year completed, and years of attendance.

 

 

N.J.S.A. 18A:36-19; 18A:36-19.1; 18A:40-4; 18A:40-19

N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.1; 6A:32-7.2; 6A:32-7.3; 6A:32-7.4; 6A:32-7.5;

6A:32-7.6; 6A:32-7.7; 6A:32-7.8

20 U.S.C. §8528

 

 

Revised: 26 April 2023