Policy 2140 - Student and Family Privacy Rights

Student and Family Privacy Rights

Surveys - General
Surveys requesting personal information from students, as well as any other instrument used to collect personal information from students, must advance or relate to RISE Charter School’s educational objectives as identified in Board policy. This applies to all surveys, regardless of whether the student answering the questions can be identified and regardless of who created the survey.

Personally identifiable information from student education records may be disclosed to an educational agency or institution in order to:

  1. Develop, validate, or administer predictive tests;
  2. Administer student aid programs; or
  3. Improve instruction.

In such cases, the school shall enter into a written agreement with the receiving organization. The study must not allow identification of individual parents or students by anyone other than representatives of the organization with legitimate interests in the information and the information must be destroyed when it is no longer needed for study purposes.

Surveys Created by a Third Party
Before RISE Charter School administers or distributes a survey created by a third party to a student, the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) may inspect the survey upon request and within a reasonable time of their request.

This section applies to every survey:

  1. That is created by a person or entity other than a Charter School official, staff member, or student;
  2. Regardless of whether the student answering the questions can be identified; and
  3. Regardless of the subject matter of the questions.

Surveys Requesting Personal Information
School officials and staff members shall not request, nor disclose, the identity of any student who completes ANY survey containing one or more of the following items:

  1. Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent/guardian;
  2. Mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family;
  3. Behavior or attitudes about sex;
  4. Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
  5. Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom students have close family relationships;
  6. Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those with lawyers, physicians, and ministers;
  7. Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent/guardian; or
  8. Income, other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program.

The student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) may:

  1. Inspect the survey within a reasonable time of the request, and/or
  2. Refuse to allow their child to participate in any survey requesting personal information. The school shall not penalize any student whose parent(s)/guardian(s) exercise this option.

Instructional Material

A student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) may, within a reasonable time of the request, inspect any instructional material used as part of their child’s educational curriculum.
The term “instructional material,” for purposes of this policy, means instructional content that is provided to a student, regardless of its format, printed or representational materials, audio-visual materials, and materials in electronic or digital formats (such as materials accessible through the Internet). The term does not include academic tests or academic assessments.

Collection of Personal Information from Students for Marketing Prohibited
The term “personal information,” for purposes of this section only, means individually identifiable information including:

  1. A student’s or parent’s first and last name;
  2. A home or other physical address, including street name and the name of the city or town;
  3. Telephone number; or
  4. A Social Security identification number.

RISE Charter School shall not collect, disclose, or use student personal information for the purpose of marketing or selling that information or otherwise providing that information to others for that purpose.

RISE Charter School, however, is not prohibited from collecting, disclosing, or using personal information collected from students for the exclusive purpose of developing, evaluating, or providing educational products or services for, or to, students or educational institutions such as the following:

  1. College or other post-secondary education recruitment or military recruitment;
  2. Book clubs, magazines, and programs providing access to low-cost literary products;
  3. Curriculum and instructional materials used by elementary schools and secondary schools;
  4. Tests and assessments to provide cognitive, evaluative, diagnostic, clinical, aptitude, or achievement information about students (or to generate other statistically useful data for the purpose of securing such tests and assessments) and the subsequent analysis and public release of the aggregate data from such tests and assessments;
  5. The sale by students of products or services to raise funds for school-related or education-related activities; and
  6. Student recognition programs.

Notification of Rights and Procedures
The Executive Director or designee shall notify students’ parents/guardians of:

  1. This policy as well as its availability from RISE Charter School office upon request;
  2. How to opt their child out of participation in activities as provided in this policy;
  3. The approximate dates during the school year when a survey requesting personal information, as described above, is scheduled or expected to be scheduled;
  4. How to request access to any survey or other material described in this policy.

This notification shall be given to parents/guardians at least annually at the beginning of the school year and within a reasonable period after any substantive change in this policy.
The rights provided to parents/guardians in this policy transfer to the student when the student turns 18 years of age or is an emancipated minor.

Cross Reference:
2520 Curricular Materials
3200 Student Rights and Responsibilities
3500 Student Health, Physical Screenings, and Examinations
4175 Required Annual Notices
4250 Education Research

Legal Reference:
20 U.S.C. § 1232g, et seq. Family Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA)
20 U.S.C. § 1232h Protection of Pupil Rights
34 C.F.R. Part 99 Implementing FERPA
I.C. § 33-5210(3) Application of School Law - Accountability -Exemption from State Rules

Policy History:
Adopted on: June 14, 2021
Revised on:
Reviewed on: