As parents it necessary to be involved in our children's education. One aspect of this involvement is being aware of the contents of our children's education record. The contents of a student’s education record typically includes the following: report cards, standardized test scores, attendance and disciplinarian reports. Educational records are typically reviewed by other schools when your child is transferring to a new school, applying for summer educational programs, applying to advanced high school programs as well as college and university.
Recently, while applying for additional educational opportunities for my 8th grader, I was required to obtain copies of my child's education record. In my child's record, I was shocked to find a false disciplinarian report stating that my child had kicked another student on the bus. The report went on further stating that the school administrator addressed the issue by speaking with my child and that my husband and I had attended a meeting with the school administrator to discuss the incident. The report was absolutely false!
Upon reviewing the false report, I immediately contacted my child’s school and was then referred to the local department of education. When contacting the department of education, I explained the error to the department representative. The representative took a day to research my compliant and determined that she could not find any information supporting the incident and therefore deleted the report from my child's record. I then requested written documentation from the department representative regarding my complaint, her findings and what she had done to correct the issue. The representative complied with my request and sent me an email explaining the issue and the steps she took to remove the false report. She also sent me a copy of the disciplinarian report showing "zero" incidents.
Parents of US students should know that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA gives parents the right to inspect and review their student's education records maintained by the school. Parents also have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent has the right to a formal hearing.After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.
(USA Parents - For additional information about FERPA you may call 1-800-USA-LEAR(1-800-872-5327)
Source: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)." Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2013.
So sorry you had to experience this but this is such a teachable moment on how we parents have to constantly be advocates for our children and how we have to periodically "spot check" the system. Thats great you were able to get this false report rectified and not hamper your 8th grader from future academic opportunities. Great post and thanks for sharing.
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