Harrison County Schools Notification of Rights under FERPA for Elementary and Secondary Schools

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) affords parents and students over eighteen (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 fortyfive (45) days of the day the school receives a request for access.

    Parents or eligible students should submit to the school principal or appropriate 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.

    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 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 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); 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 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.

    Upon request, Harrison County Schools discloses education records without consent to officials of another school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

  4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Harrison County Schools 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, S.W.
    Washington, DC 20202-4605

Directory Information. Harrison County Schools designates the following as directory information: Student’s name, address, telephone number, 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, awards received, student exemplary work, video and photographic images and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.

The parents of the student or the eligible student has the right to refuse to permit the designation of any or all of the categories of personally identifiable information with respect to that student as directory information. The parents or the eligible student also has the right to refuse to permit the designation of names, addresses, and telephone listings of their children as directory information for the purposes of providing the information to military recruiters. To refuse this designation, the parent or eligible student must complete a Directory Information Refusal Form (available at school offices) and forward it to the school principal or appropriate school official within ten (10) calendar days of the publication date of this notice.