Privacy Policies and Records Requests

Certain student data of Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools students is stored and maintained in statewide longitudinal data systems. A law was passed in 2014 that requires districts to provide annual notice to parents concerning when a school district is allowed to disclose student data maintained in a statewide longitudinal data system to third parties.

• Under the 2014 law, a school district may disclose student data that is maintained in a statewide longitudinal data system to:
• Authorized personnel of an educational agency or the state board of regents who require disclosure to perform assigned duties, and
• The student and the parent or legal guardian of the student, provided the data pertains solely to the student.

In addition, student data maintained in a statewide longitudinal data system may be disclosed to authorized personnel of any state agency or to a service provider of a state agency, educational agency, or school performing instructions, assessment or longitudinal reporting, provided a data-sharing agreement between the educational agency and other state agency or service provider provides the following:

• Purpose, scope and duration of data-sharing agreement
• Recipient of student data uses such information solely for the purposes specified in the agreement
• Student data will be destroyed when no longer necessary for purposes of the data-sharing agreement or upon expiration of the agreement, whichever occurs first.

A service provider engaged to perform a function of instruction may be allowed to retain student transcripts maintained in a statewide longitudinal data system as required by applicable laws and rules and regulations.

Unless an adult student or parent or guardian of a minor student provides written consent to disclose personally identifiable student data maintained in a statewide longitudinal data system, such student data may only be disclosed to a governmental entity not specified above or any public or private audit and evaluation or research organization if the data is aggregate data. “Aggregate data” means data collected or reported at the group, cohort or institutional level and which contains no personally identifiable student data.

The district may disclose:

• Student directory information maintained in a statewide longitudinal data system when necessary and the student’s parent or legal guardian has consented in writing
• Directory information maintained in a statewide longitudinal data system to an enhancement vendor providing photography services, class ring services, yearbook publishing services, memorabilia services or similar services
• Any student data information from a statewide longitudinal data system requiring disclosure pursuant to state statutes
• Student data maintained in a statewide longitudinal data system pursuant to any lawful subpoena or court order directing such disclosure
• Student data maintained in a statewide longitudinal data system to a public or private postsecondary educational institution for purposes of application or admission of a student to such postsecondary educational institution with the student’s written consent.

The U.S. Department of Education has released final regulations amending the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The regulations have been published in the Federal Register and can be accessed at the online Federal Register. The regulations became effective January 3, 2012. (57 page .pdf version of regulations)

You may recall that the revised regulations attempt to give greater flexibility to states to share data that can be helpful in judging the effectiveness of educational programs and institutions, while maintaining safeguards to student privacy. You can visit the USDOE’s Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) website to view important documents that are being released with the new regulations, including two overview documents regarding the changes: one for state and local education agencies and another for parents and students. These documents may prove useful in communicating the regulation changes with your staff and community. Other documents available on the site include Guidance for Reasonable Methods and Written Agreements and updated model notifications for local education agencies.

Should you have questions about any of the issues raised in these final regulations, you may e-mail the FPCO at FERPA@ed.gov.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) gives parents, and students over 18 years of age, certain rights concerning a student’s school records. They have the right to:

• Look at and review the student’s school records within 45 days of the day they make a request. A written request should be given to the school principal that identifies the record(s) they wish to look at. The principal will tell them within 45 days the time and place where the records may be seen.
• Ask for a change to the student’s school record that they think is not correct or is misleading. A letter to the school principal should explain why the record is not correct and clearly identify what part of the record needs to be changed. If the school does not change the record, parents (or eligible students) have the right to a hearing.
• Approve the release of identifiable information contained in the student’s school records, except for information that FERPA can release without having permission. One permitted exception is for the release of information to “school officials” with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the school 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 Board of Education; a person or company with whom the school 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 or her tasks. School officials have legitimate educational interests if they need to examine a school record in order to complete a task.
• File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education about suspected failures by the school 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 Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-5920

Directory Information

FERPA also requires that the KCK Public Schools, with certain exceptions, obtain written consent from parents, or students who have reached the age of 18, prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.

However, the school district may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless you have advised the school district to the contrary in accordance with district procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the school district to include this type of information in certain school publications. Examples include:

• A playbill, showing a student’s role in a drama production
• The yearbook
• Honor roll or other recognition lists
• Graduation programs
• Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing weight and height of team members

Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without prior written consent.

Access for Military Recruiters

In addition, two federal laws require school districts receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide military recruiters, upon request, with three directory information categories – names, addresses and telephone listings – unless parents have advised the school district that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent.

If you do not want the KCK Public Schools to disclose directory information from your child’s education records, or from your education records if you are 18 years of age, without your prior written consent, you must notify the school district in writing. Please address a letter or a completed military “opt out” form .pdf to:

Dr. Jermaine Wilson
Executive Director of Student Services & Family Support
KCK Public Schools
2010 N. 59th Street
Kansas City, KS 66104

The following information is considered directory information: student’s name, address, telephone listing, date of birth, dates of attendance, grade level, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, degrees, honors and awards received, and most recent educational agency or institution attended.

Purpose of KORA

The Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) requires most records that are made or kept by public schools or community colleges to be open to the public.

This law makes openness the rule, but recognizes that there are times when individual privacy interests or competing public interests override the public right to know. Private individuals can bring an action in the district court to enforce their rights under the Kansas Open Records Act. Actions can also be brought by the county attorney, the district attorney, or the Kansas Attorney General. Although schools or community colleges can be fined for intentionally violating KORA, injunctions and other orders to enforce the purposes of KORA are the most common remedies.

Exemptions

KORA begins with the presumption that all public records should be open to the public, but allows certain exemptions from this requirement. Exceptions are included in the law because the legislature has determined the public right to know is outweighed by another important interest. The following list provides examples of the types of records which may be exempt under KORA. Not all exempt records are included in this representative list.

• Records exempted by other law.
• Records that are privileged under the rules of evidence.
• Medical and treatment records.
• Personnel records, except for the name of the employee, position held, salary and length of service.
• The names of donors, if they have requested their name not be released.
• Some emergency or security procedures.
• Sealed bids until one is accepted or all are rejected.
• Correspondences with a private individual.
• Records containing information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

Your Right to Request Records

KORA grants the public the following rights:

• The right to have our freedom of information officer respond to your questions about KORA.
• The right to inspect any public record that we have in our possession that is not exempt. We are not required to create a record for you if the record does not already exist.
• The right to have copies of public records, but we can charge a fee for making copies.
• The right to be informed of the procedures you must follow in requesting access to or copies of our records.
• The right to be informed or obtain copies of our records during our regular business hours.
• The right to have access to a record not later than three business days after you request it.
• The right to a written explanation of the reason we are denying you access to a record if we refuse to allow you access to a record.
• The right to bring an action against us in the district court if you believe we are denying you access to a record you have the right to see.
• The right to have your attorney’s fees paid by us if the court determines we intentionally violated your rights under KORA and had no reasonable basis for denying your request.

Our Responsibilities

Public schools have several responsibilities under KORA. We must:

• Appoint a freedom of information officer who can answer questions and settle disputes under KORA.
• Make facilities available to you for inspecting our records.
• Allow you to make abstracts or have copies of our records made.
• Adopt procedures for requesting access or obtaining copies of our records.
• Act upon requests of records as soon as possible to give you an explanation of the reason for the delay. If there will be a delay, we must tell you the earliest time and place at which the record you are seeking will be made available.
• Have a records custodian available during all regular business hours, and have procedures for allowing access on business days when regular office hours are not maintained.
• Redact exempt information and provide you with the remainder of the record if the record contains both exempt and nonexempt material.
• Provide you with a written statement, citing the specific provision of the law under which we are denying access, if we deny you access to a record and you ask for an explanation. The statement must be provided within three business days after you request it.

Procedures to Follow

The school district policy governing access to records of the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools is outlined in the Board of Education Policy 1.3.4.0.0.

For purposes of access to school district records, the central office of U.S.D. 500 is:

KCKPS Central Office and Training Center
2010 N. 59th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66104

Records are available for inspection or copying by members of the public at the Central Office during regular business hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. During the months of June and July, the Central Office closes at noon each Friday. Some records may be available for inspection at other locations.

A request for access to a public record should be directed to the custodian of the record. The custodian of the record may ask that you make the request in writing. Your request should include your name, your address and a description of the record to which you are seeking access.

If the record you are seeking falls within the exemption, the custodian may ask you to certify, in writing, why you believe you have a right to access the record. The custodian may also ask for certification that you will not use or sell the information for sales or solicitation purposes.

Upon receiving your request, the custodian of the record will retrieve the requested record and provide the record for your inspection as soon as possible.

If the custodian cannot provide you the record immediately, the custodian will inform you in writing of the time and place at which the record will first be made available to you.

You cannot remove the record from the building. The custodian will show you a place where you may look at the record. If you desire a copy of the record, please inform the custodian and a copy will be made. A fee of $.20 per copy applies and must be paid prior to the copying.

If the custodian does not grant the request, the person requesting the record shall receive a written explanation of the reason for the denial within three business days of their request, if an explanation is requested. If the requester disagrees with the explanation, the freedom of information officer shall settle the dispute.

For more information about our procedures, fees or office hours, please contact the custodian of the record. Or contact the district’s freedom of information officer:

Edwin Birch
Executive Director, Communications and Marketing

Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools
2010 N. 59th Street
Kansas City, KS 66104
(913) 279-2242

Throughout the school year, different media groups (television stations, local newspapers, school production classes, district communications staff, etc.) will produce stories about activities and events happening in the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools. These articles may include photographs and video that may be posted on the Internet, or printed or aired on television and cable stations. In addition, schools or the district may want to include news about activities and events on their own websites.

Parents who DO NOT want their child(ren) to be photographed or videotaped for news media or school publicity purposes, should complete a “Media Opt-Out Form .pdf.” Completed forms should be returned to your school’s front office so the school has a record of your request.

District photographers will make every reasonable effort to identify the primary subjects in photographs and to not publish photos containing students on the opt-out list. The “Media Opt-Out Form” will be good for the current school year.

This policy relates to classroom activities or school events that are not already open to the public. Public events such as sporting events, theatre productions, etc. are considered open to the public and outside photographers and videographers are not governed by this policy.

• Media Opt-Out Form Explanation .pdf
• Media Opt-Out Form .pdf
• Media Opt-Out Form Explanation – Spanish .pdf
• Media Opt-Out Form – Spanish .pdf

Other Consent Forms:

• Activity Consent Form .pdf
• Activity Consent Form – Spanish .pdf
• Military Recruiter Opt-Out Form .pdf

Under the federal government’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), parents have the right to know the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teacher. Schools are required to let you know:

• Whether the teacher has met state qualifications and licensing standards for the grade levels and subject areas he or she teaches.
• Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status where state qualification or licensing standards have been waived.
• The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.
• Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

If you would like to receive any of the above information, contact the district’s Human Resources office, 913.279.2261.

Click here for the Parents’ Right to Know printable handout (in English and Spanish).

Click here for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Standard Complaint Resolution Procedure printable handout (in English and Spanish).