“Schools may disclose, without consent, “directory” information such as a student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.”
In my opinion, the college a student is planning to attend does not constitute an honor or award–I think those terms refer to the honors and awards given out by the school.
I don’t like policies where a family has to take action to assert their privacy rights–that should be the default, instead of open access being the default. It would be better to have families opt in to disclosure, if they want that.
@siliconvalleymom Yeah, I know a few classmates who are in that situation. I’m not sure that they know that it’ll be published, though. That’s one of the reasons why I’m a bit iffy on this whole issue.
My high school publishes a photo in the alumni magazine of the students seated on the bleachers of the gym wearing sweatshirts or t-shirts of where they are going to be attending. I don’t think they show the names. I think it’s fine. Everybody looks happy in the photos.
Interesting. Do they provide shirts/sweatshirts to the students who can’t afford them? Or do you live in a district where everyone is able to afford the shirts?
A few students have blank shirts but still smiling faces (forgot? gap year?) Perhaps you would not have to be in the photo if you did not want to. It is a private school that I attended 30 years ago, and the vast majority do go to college (and the kind of school that publishes an alumni magazine.) It is a college preparatory school, after all. I have no idea who the kids in the current photos are. I live in another city now, far far away.
Our district sends how a consent to publicity form at the beginning of the year. If parents or kids don’t want the info published, they don’t have to sign. The seniors have a FB group and each kid posts where they are going, or their post-HS plans. The Rule is that all comments have to be positive and supportive, whether it is for Harvard or local CC. If kids are waiting or aren’t sure, they can put undecided.
I recently found my HS paper’s publication of each senior’s post-college plans. Some said work, some undecided, some colleges.
Every kid should be proud to be graduating high school whether they are going to college or not. I don’t understand why it should be secret. Every single senior is constantly asked where they are going or what they are doing. Publishing it in the school newspaper, or even a local paper, provides a way to celebrate. Of course, any kid should be able to opt out. Not sure about scholarship info, as that could be more economic since the schools and families don’t really differentiate between merit and need-based money.
mom2and, again, different from the OP’s scenario. The kids didn’t get the chance to opt-out and they didn’t get the chance to submit or not submit their school.
I don’t think very many people have an issue with students themselves putting out that info- even if it means giving it to the school and having them publish it. Where it does not sit right (and I can only speak for myself here) with me is when it’s done without knowledge or permission.
I doubt that students don’t have knowledge about it or have their names listed without permission.
I have not heard anyone making a mountain out of a mole and suing the school in my area.
A lot of students already volunteer to put the info on FB.
The local newspaper (not school paper) has published names of graduates with the schools they are attending or other post graduation plans for years. Never heard of anyone complaining.
Again, OP may not be aware that students’ parents already gave permission. OP may be assuming no permission was given or if permission is necessary. I would think those education bureaucrats got all the compliance stuff covered.
You’d think so, wouldn’t you? Yet I know of a school district that was seriously and legitimately concerned about losing their federal funding several years ago for violating FERPA after private information was released about students without the families’ knowledge or consent. Just because school district employees do it, doesn’t mean it’s appropriate or that they got clearance to do so.
If you go down to the Counseling Center you can see huge lists of student names with their schools, hung on the wall. They are written in the students own handwriting. I was staggered at how many there were until I saw that students were proudly listing multiple places they had gained acceptance.
Isn’t losing federal money an empty threat, since no school ever has lost it due to FERPA violation? (If anyone knows of a school that has actually had federal money taken away because of a FERPA violation, please let us know.)
Again, I really do not believe this is a violation of FERPA. People should take some time to read up on it.
I deal with PII data at work. It is not so black and white even you are dealing with same data.
I understand that directory information can be released without the student’s consent. I also understand that information on “honors and awards” can be released without the student’s consent. However, I don’t consider where the student is attending college to be an “honor” nor an “award.” Directory information is supposed to be information like that in the white pages in old telephone directories. What is the specific reference in FERPA that you have in mind, oldfort?
I also dislike the idea that one has to assert one’s rights by explicitly opting out, rather than having the rights as the default and having a signed form required to waive the rights.
I see private schools as different from public schools in this regard.
Since this has been going on for decades, at least in my area, there must be little or no complaints about it. Again, why would plans beyond high school be a secret? The seniors all know what the kids are going and unless they never leave their homes, parents will run into others and asked about their kid’s plans. That is what parents have in common and they will talk. Not sure why this is considered controversial.
Agreed, particualry since the college has zero to do with the high school. Or, what I mean to say is that the high school has zero to do with the college, and those should be completely separate records.
btw: same point about test score data, something xiggi has been saying for years. Unless you live in one of those states that pays for the ACT/SAT as a requirement, the scores from those tests have nothing to do with the HS and the HS therefore has no legitimate purpose to place them on your HS transcript (IMO).