• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students over 18 years of age ("eligible students") 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 45 days of the day the District receives a request for access.

  Parents and eligible students should submit to the school principal (or appropriate school official) 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 record(s) that the parent or eligible student believes inaccurate or misleading or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy under FERPA.

  Parents or eligible students may ask the Middle Country Central School District to amend a record they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write the school principal, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. 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 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 provide written consent before the District discloses 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 District as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel), or 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 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.

  Another exception permits disclosure without consent to an authorized representative. An authorized representative is any individual or entity designated by a State or local educational authority or a Federal agency headed by the Secretary, the Comptroller General or the Attorney General to carry out audits, evaluations, or enforcement or compliance activities relating to educational programs.

  The Board directs that “directory information” such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major course of study, participation in school activities or sports, weight and height if a member of an athletic team, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and most recent school attended.

  A directory of names, addresses and telephone numbers of 11th and 12th grade students will also be released to the Armed Services unless a written parental request is made preventing disclosure of this information.

  Upon request, the District 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 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 are:

  Family Policy Compliance Office
  U.S. Department of Education
  400 Maryland Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC 20202-5920

  *All rights and protections given parents under the FERPA and this procedure transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or enrolls in a post-secondary school. The student then becomes an “eligible student.” The following information is designated as student “Directory Information:” student’s name, address, date of birth, grade level, extra-curricular participation, awards or honors, photograph, height and weight (if a member of an athletic team), previous school attended, parent’s name. “Directory Information” may be disclosed without prior written consent. Parents or eligible students will have two weeks from the beginning of the school year or date a student enrolls to advise the school district, in writing, of any and all items they refuse to permit the district to designate as directory information for the balance of the school year.
   

• MCCSD_FERPA_FORM_ENGLISH.pdf

• MCCSD_FERPA_FORM_SPANISH.pdf
  
  Last Modified on March 11, 2024

The Middle Country Central School District, in recognition of the risk of identity theft and unwarranted invasion of privacy, affirms its commitment to safeguarding student personally identifiable information (PII) in educational records from unauthorized access or disclosure in accordance with State and Federal law.  The Middle Country Central School District establishes the following parental bill of rights:

• Student PII will be collected and disclosed only as necessary to achieve educational purposes in accordance with State and Federal Law.
   
• The district and its schools, and third-party contractors and subcontractors, will not sell student PII or use or disclose it for any marketing or commercial purposes or facilitate its use or disclosure by any other party for any marketing or commercial purpose or permit another party to do so.
           
• Parents have the right to inspect and review the complete contents of their child's education record (for more information about how to exercise this right, see Policy 5500-R).
   
• State and federal laws, such as NYS Education Law §2-d and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, protect the confidentiality of students’ personally identifiable information.  Safeguards associated with industry standards and best practices, including but not limited to, encryption, firewalls, and password protection, must be in place when data is stored or transferred.
   
• A complete list of all student data elements collected by the State Education Department is available for public review at http://nysed.gov/data-privacy-security/student-data-inventory or by writing to: Chief Privacy Officer, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234.
   
• Parents have the right to have complaints about possible breaches and unauthorized disclosures of student data addressed. Complaints should be directed to Jonathan Singer, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, at 8 43rd Street, Centereach, NY 11720 or fmcmahon@mccsd.net or by telephone at 631-285-8010.  Complaints can also be directed to the New York State Education Department online at http://nysed.gov/data-privacy-security/report-improper-disclosure, by mail to the Chief Privacy Officer, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234 or by email to privacy@nysed.gov or by telephone at 518-474-0937. 
   
• Parents have the right to be notified in accordance with applicable laws and regulations if a breach or unauthorized release of their student’s PII occurs.
   
• All district and school employees and officers with access to PII will receive annual training on applicable federal and state laws, regulations, district and school policies and safeguards which will be in alignment with industry standards and best practices to protect PII.
   
• In the event that the District engages a third party provider to deliver student educational services, the contractor or subcontractors will be obligated to adhere to State and Federal Laws to safeguard student PII. Parents can request information about third party contractors by contacting Dr. Vincent Raicovi, Director of Technology, Business & Information Systems, at 8 43rd Street, Centereach, NY 11720 or vraicovi@mccsd.net or by telephone at 631-285-8080 or can access the information on the district’s website https://www.mccsd.net/software.

Revised: 07/30/2021

https://go.boarddocs.com/ny/mccsd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=C5BK55500E8B

Last Modified on July 30, 2021