PULASKI
COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLIC NOTICE
NOTIFICATION OF FERPA RIGHTS and CHILD FIND
for CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN NEED of SPECIAL
EDUCATION or 504 SERVICES
Notification
of FERPA Rights
The Family Education Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and “eligible students” (students over 18 years of age or
students who are attending a postsecondary institution) certain rights with
respect to the student’s education records. They are:
1) The right
to inspect and review the student’s education records within forty-five (45)
days of the day the District receives a
request for access.
Parents or
eligible students should submit to the school Principal/designee a written
request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Principal will make
arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time
and place where the record(s) 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 in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights.
Parents or
eligible students may ask the District
to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation
of privacy or other rights. They should write the school Principal, clearly
identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is
inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of their privacy or other rights.
If the
District decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible
student, the District will notify the parent or eligible student of the
decision and advise him\her
of the 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 consent to disclosures of personally
identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except
to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
One exception
that permits disclosure
without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational
interests. A “school official” is a person employed by the District 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 District has contracted
to perform a special 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
an education record in order to fulfill his/her professional responsibility.
Upon
request, the District shall disclose education records without consent to
officials of another school district in which a student seeks or intends to
enroll or to other entities authorized by law.
4) The right
to prohibit the disclosure of personally identifiable information concerning
the student to recruiting representatives of the U.S. Armed Forces and its
service academies, the Kentucky Air National Guard, and the Kentucky Army
National Guard.
Unless the parent or eligible student requests in writing
that the District not release information, the student’s name, address, and
telephone number (if listed) shall be released to Armed Forces recruiters upon
their request.
5)
The right to file a complaint with the U.S.
Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the District to comply
with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that
administers FERPA is:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400
Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605
The Superintendent or the Superintendent's designee
is authorized to release Board approved directory information.
Approved directory information shall be: student
names and addresses, telephone numbers, date and place of birth, major field of
study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and
height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards
received, and most recent educational institution attended by student.
Any eligible student, parent, or guardian who does
not wish to have directory information released shall notify the Superintendent
in writing within 30 days of distribution of the Student Directory Information Notification
form which allows parents to so notify the school district.
The Pulaski County School District
keeps educational records in a secure location in each school and Board office.
The Pulaski County School
District obtains written consent from a parent or eligible student (age 18
or who is attending a postsecondary institution), before disclosing personally
identifiable information to an entity or individual not authorized to receive
it under FERPA.
For students who have been determined eligible for Special
Education, educational records will be destroyed at the request of the parents
when they are no longer needed to provide educational programs or
services. The Pulaski County School
District may destroy the educational records of a child without parent
request three years after they are no longer needed to provide educational
programs or services. Parents are
advised that data contained in the records may later be needed for Social
Security benefits or other purposes.
The Pulaski County School District may retain, for an indefinite
period of time, a record of the student’s name, address, telephone number,
grades, attendance records, classes attended, grade level completed, and year
completed.
Children eligible for Special Education include those
children with disabilities who have autism, deaf-blindness, developmental
delay, emotional-behavior disability, hearing impairment, mental disability,
multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific
learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, or
visual impairment and who because of such an impairment need Special Education
services.
Children eligible for 504 services include those children
who have a current physical or mental impairment that currently substantially limits some major life activity,
which causes the student’s ability to access the school environment or school
activities to be substantially limited.
The Pulaski County School District has an ongoing “Child
Find” system, which is designed to locate, identify and evaluate any child
residing in a home, facility, or residence within its geographical boundaries,
age three (3) to twenty-one (21) years, who may have a disability and be in
need of Special Education or 504 services.
This includes children who are not in school; those who are in public,
private, or home school; those who are highly mobile such as children who are
migrant or homeless; and those who are advancing from grade to grade, who may
need but are not receiving Special Education or 504 services.
The Pulaski County School District will make sure any
child enrolled in its district who qualifies for Special Education or 504
services, regardless of how severe the disability, is provided appropriate Special
Education or 504 services at no cost to the parents of the child.
Parents, relatives, public and private agency employees, and
concerned citizens are urged to help the Pulaski County School District
find any child who may have a disability and need Special Education or 504
services. The District needs to know
the name and age, or date of birth of the child; the name, address, and phone
number(s) of the parents or guardian; the possible disability; and other information
to determine if Special Education or 504 services are needed.
Letters and phone calls are some of the ways the Pulaski
County School District collects the information needed. The information the school District collects
will be used to contact the parents of the child and find out if the child
needs to be evaluated or referred for Special Education or 504 services.
If you know of a child who lives within the boundaries of
the Pulaski County School District, who may have a disability, and may
need but is not receiving Special Education or 504 services, please call
606-679-1123 or send the information to:
Director of Special Education Section 504 Coordinator
Pulaski County Board of Education Pulaski County Board of Education
P.O. Box 1055 P.O. Box 1055
Somerset, KY 42502 Somerset, KY 42502
(606) 679-1123 (606) 4679-1123
Fax (606) 679-1438 Fax
(606) 679-1438
“Child
Find” activities will continue throughout the school year. As part of these efforts the Pulaski
County School District will use screening information, student records, and
basic assessment information it collects on all children in the District to
help locate those children who have a disability and need Special Education or
504 services. Any information the
District collects through “Child Find” is maintained confidentially.
Written Policies and
Procedures have been developed which describe the District’s requirements
regarding the confidentiality of personally identifiable information and “Child
Find” activities. There are copies
in the Principal’s office of each school, and in the Board of Education
office. Copies of these Policies and
Procedures may be obtained by contacting:
Director of Pupil Personnel (or
other job title designated within your district)
Pulaski County Board of Education
P.O. Box 1055
Somerset, KY 42502
(606) 679-1123
The District office is open
Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Pulaski County
School District provides a public notice in the native language or other
mode of communication of the various populations in the geographical boundaries
of the District to the extent feasible.
If you know of someone who may need this notice translated to another language,
given orally, or delivered in some other manner or mode of communication,
please contact the Director of Pupil Personnel, the Director of
Special Education or the Section 504 Coordinator at the address or
phone number listed above for the Pulaski County School District.