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Show School District Explains & Limited Legal Access To Individual Student Records S The Alpine School ni trict has released an fi statemen ex-W ex-W Students' and N !' rights with If ?.' the main-i main-i Stand release of records. According to the jement, the public ords. The infor-Jon infor-Jon is kept for a 'umber of reasons: to ds L teachers and jo ialist3 become Id special needs and ft Crests, to assist P students ui gaming S entrance to colleges and 0 universities, and to '( jjsist students with job (US placement. student records are tat in the district's central office and in appropriate places in ""I Mch school. They are I under the direct supervision super-vision of the principal, Md are available only to the teachers, the district staff working with the student, and jpecified representatives repre-sentatives of governmental govern-mental agencies as prescribed by law. , When a student transfers to another school, the records are sent to the new location upon request. The records of special education students, however, cannot be transferred out of the j district without specific ': parental consent. The only information I on student files which may be made public is k that defined as "directory information:" infor-mation:" the student's name, date and place of birth, major- areas of study, awards received, participation in acti- -I vities and sports, i height and weight of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance atten-dance and previous schools of attendance. According to federal law this "directory information" may be released without parental consent. Usually, this type of information is used for such things as yearbooks, year-books, news releases on ' student achievements, or by the PTA. However, parents who do not want this directory information released on their children child-ren may request that it be withheld by contacting contact-ing the school principal and by signing a formal request. This notification notifica-tion must be received by school officials within ten days of publication of this notice. All other information contained in the student stu-dent records, such as grades and test scores, is considered private and cannot be released. Parents and legal guardians along with students over the age of 18 have the right to review their own records at any time and should contact the school principal if they wish to do so. Copies of the records may also be taken for the cost of the copying. Parents, legal guardians and students over the age of 18 also have the right to question the information informa-tion contained on the records as to its accuracy. Those believing that a correction is needed on the record or that comments should ' be added may request to the principal that the changes be made. A hearing with the district dis-trict superintendent will be held if an agreement at the school level is not reached. Federal law also permits parents to file a complaint with the U.S. Office of Education if it is felt that the schools are violating the laws regarding student records. In addition to the explanation regarding student records, the district statement also explained laws regarding regard-ing handicapped students. Both federal and Utah law assure all eligible handicapped children and youth (ages 5 through 21) the right to a free, appropriate public education at no cost to their parents or guardians. Section 504 provides of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that "no otherwise qualified handicapped individual shall solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded ex-cluded from the participation parti-cipation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination dis-crimination under any program or activity receiving Federal assistance." Those feeling that there has been a violation of these laws covering the rights of handicapped students should first discuss the matter with the student's teacher, then the school principal. If concerns are not satisfied after consultation consul-tation with the principal, Mr. W. Stanford Stubbs, Director of Pupil f Personnel with the Alpine School District,' t should be contacted, the statement said. I |