The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law, requires that school districts, with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child's education records. However, school districts may disclose appropriately designated "directory information" without written consent, unless the parent advised the school district to the contrary. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the school district to include this type of information from your child's education records in certain school publications.
The following information is considered directory information:
Parent/guardian and student name, home address, home telephone number, home email address, student photograph or video, student date of birth, dates of enrollment, grade level, enrollment status, degree or award received, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports teams, height and weight of athletes, most recent school or program attended, and other information that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.
Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent's prior written consent. Outside organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks. In addition, two federal laws require local educational agencies receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to provide military recruiters, upon request, with three directory information categories-names, address and telephone listings-unless parents have advised the school district that they do not want their student's information disclosed without their prior written consent.
If parents/guardians DO NOT want the District to disclose directory information without their prior written consent, they (or an adult student) must notify the District by completing the form linked below or by completing the annual data verification process by October 1. Otherwise, the District may disclose directory information from their student’s education records as described above. Upon submission of this form, the checked directory information will not otherwise be released from the time the School District receives the form until the opt-out request is rescinded.
NOTICE: OSPI Data Sharing - High School Students, Starting 2024
Starting in 2024, school districts are required to submit directory information for high school students and their parents/guardians to OSPI. OSPI is required to share the information with institutions of higher education for the purpose of informing students/families of postsecondary educational opportunities available in the state.
The directory information will be released to OSPI on November 1, 2024. If you do not want this information released to OSPI, and you have not already filled out an opt-out form, please fill out the form below by October 30, 2024.