Under the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, a school must annually notify parents of
students in attendance of their rights under FERPA. The annual notification
must include information regarding a parent's right to inspect and review his
or her child's education records, the right to seek to amend the records, the
right to consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information from the
records (except in certain circumstances), and the right to file a complaint
with the Office regarding an alleged failure by a school to comply with FERPA.
The school must also inform parents of its definitions of the terms
"school official" and "legitimate educational interest."
FERPA does not require
a school to notify parents individually of their rights under FERPA. Rather,
the school may provide the annual notification by any means likely to inform
parents of their rights. Thus, the annual notification may be published by
various means, including any of the following: in a student handbook; in a notice
to parents; in a calendar of events; on the school's website (though this
should not be the exclusive means of notification); in the local newspaper; or
posted in a central location at the school or various locations throughout the
school. Additionally, some schools include their directory information notice
as part of the annual notice of rights under FERPA.
For more information please
visit the district’s website at www.harrison.k12.ms.us under the “For Parents”
tab or read the United States Department of Education's FERPA Guidelines for Parents.