of IQ scores, or references to information from IQ tests, should be permanently sealed. The records are to be opened only for litigation purposes, official state or federal audits, or upon parent request. The parent shall be given copies of the sealed records upon request. The sealed records shall be maintained for a period of five years. Prior to sealing the records of these students, the parents shall be notified that the records will be sealed because of a court decision which prohibits the use of intelligence tests for African-American students for any purpose related to special education. Additionally, prior to sealing the records, a qualified professional should identify appropriate data to be copied and purged of all IQ scores or references to information from IQ tests. The remaining data should then be transferred to the student's current record. In no case shall the IQ test information be made available to the IEP team for any purpose. Since the prohibition from using IQ tests with African-American children applies only to LEAs in California, it is often the case that records of African-American children received from out-of-state LEAs and/or from other agencies may contain IQ test information. Therefore, under these circumstances, the Charter SELPA recommends that Charter LEAs take the following steps to purge IQ information from a student record: 1. Review the case file to determine if prohibited information is contained therein, removing any prohibited protocols and all assessment reports which contain IQ information; 2. Copy the original report(s) and on the copy, extricate the following information: a. Any reference to a test instrument that yields an IQ score or standard score that is an indication of cognitive functioning; b. Any test data summary scores from the test instrument(s); and c. Any commentary in the report that discusses the student’s performance on the test instrument(s). 3. Make a copy of the purged report to place in the child’s records and destroy the copy that was used to extricate the information; 4. Notify the parent that the child’s original report and any relevant protocols will be sealed; 5. Seal the purged records and a copy of the parent notification in an envelope. Mark the outside of the envelope with the child’s name, destruction date of five years from the date the records were purged, and instructions that the envelope is only to be opened for purposes of litigation, official state or federal audits, or upon parent request; and 6. Add the child’s name to the Charter LEA’s master list of student records from which reports have been purged based upon the Larry P. ruling.
Chapter 5 – Confidentiality and Student Records, Charter SELPA As of 11/18/2016 CAHELP Governance Council Approved
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