Special education records are defined by FERPA, Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 99.3, as “education records.” FERPA requires that all education records must be kept confidential and that access to education records be restricted to education officials and teachers who are employees of the LEA and who have a legitimate educational interest in the child. The IDEA also indicates that access to special education records is restricted to education officials with the responsibility to meet the requirements of special education law. Additionally, a record must be kept of all parties obtaining access to special education records (Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 300.614 ) and that education agencies must provide to parents, on request, a list of the types and locations of education records ( Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 300.616 ). It is the Charter SELPA’s policy to ensure the protection of the confidentiality of any personally- identifiable data collected or maintained on a child with a disability while ensuring access to those legitimate educational providers who require access to such records in order to provide appropriate services to the child. Although Charter LEAs may find it advisable and more practical to keep special education records in a central location because of the uniqueness of special education confidentiality requirements, Charter LEAs have the option to store such records in a separate location from the child’s cumulative records. Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations § 433(b) states: “Records for each individual pupil shall be maintained in a central file at the school attended by the pupil, or when records are maintained in different locations, a notation in the central file as to where such other records may be found is required.” Charter LEAs that elect to store special education records in a separate location from the cumulative file must place a notice or flag in the child’s cumulative record that indicates additional special education records may also be found in a different location. This requirement is supported in the 1995 U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) Letter to Copenhaver whereby USDOE concluded that: “FERPA does not generally address what education records a school may or may not maintain or where the school maintains such records. Thus, under FERPA a school would not be prohibited from placing a notice in the student’s cumulative records which states that the student receives special education services and that another file exists in another office.” Purging IQ Information from Student Records According to Judge Peckham’s 1986 decision on Larry P. regarding the prohibition of IQ testing of African-American children, IQ scores from any source cannot become part of the child’s school records. The California Department of Education (CDE) issued a directive (Campbell, 1987) on how to dispose of Larry P. records generated prior to September 1986 as follows: Before an African-American student that is receiving special education services is re-evaluated for special education or transfers to a new district, all prior records
Chapter 5 – Confidentiality and Student Records, Charter SELPA As of 11/18/2016 CAHELP Governance Council Approved
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