June 28, 2004

Mr. Don L. Bell

Superintendent

Northern Lebanon School District

P.O. Box 100

Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania 17026-0100

Dear Mr. Bell:

(Parent) has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education
alleging that the Northern Lebanon School District (District) violated
rights afforded the Parent under the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA). This Office, under the authority of § 99.60 of the
FERPA regulations (copy enclosed) investigates complaints in accordance
with procedures outlined in § 99.65. The section states in summary:

-   This Office will notify the complainant and the educational agency
    or institution against which the violation has been alleged, in
    writing, if it initiates an investigation of the complaint.

-   The notification to the agency or institution under this section
    shall include the substance of the alleged violation and shall ask
    the agency or institution to submit a written response to the
    complaint.

This letter serves to notify you of the allegations, and to summarize a
June 15, 2004, telephone conversation between Mr. Dann Brittenham of my
staff and

Mr. David Yavoich, Principal of Northern Lebanon Middle School. Mr.
Brittenham and

Mr. Yavoich discussed the possibility of expediting resolution of the
FERPA complaint.

The Parent alleges that the District violated the FERPA regulations by
disclosing personally identifiable information about the Student without
the Parent's prior written consent. See 34 CFR § 99.30. Specifically,
the Parent alleges that the District sent to her a postcard (copy
enclosed) concerning the Student, postmarked February 12, 2004.

Page 2 -- Mr. Don L. Bell

The postcard stated the following:

This card is being sent to you, the parents, to inform you that your son
or daughter is not successfully completing the course(s) indicated below
and will be placed on probation from his/her activities. An opportunity
for tutoring will be provided to help your child improve his academic
standing. Please contact your child's teacher at 865-2117 for more
information regarding his/her progress.

> Student Name:
>
> Course(s)
>
> Teacher(s):

Regarding the phone conversation referenced above, Mr. Brittenham
informed

Mr. Yavoich that mailing postcards such as the one described above
results in an unauthorized disclosure under FERPA because anyone who
reads the card would know that the Student is not successfully
completing her Math, History, and English classes. Such information
generally would come from a student's education records, so the
disclosure of the information without the parent's prior written consent
would not be permitted under FERPA. Mr. Yavoich agreed that the District
should discontinue mailing the postcards, and send any records protected
by FERPA to parents in sealed envelopes or by some other secure means to
insure the privacy of students' education records.

As stated above, under the FERPA complaint procedures this Office may
initiate an investigation of a complaint and request that an institution
submit a written response to it. This may lead to further communications
with the complainant and institution, after which this Office issues a
finding regarding whether there was a violation of FERPA. As discussed
with Mr. Yavoich, we believe an investigation of the complaint is not
necessary in this case because there does not appear to be any dispute
about the facts. Accordingly, the District needs to provide this Office
within thirty days of receipt of this letter written assurances that it
will take appropriate actions to protect the privacy of students'
education records. The assurances should include your agreement to
discontinue the use of postcards to communicate personally identifiable
information from education records. As an alternative, the District may
use sealed envelopes or some other secure means to communicate with
parents about such records. In addition, please provide assurances that
all appropriate school officials in the District have been informed
about FERPA's privacy requirements.

Page 3 -- Mr. Don L. Bell

If you have any questions concerning the Act, the Department of
Education's role in its administration, the complaint procedure, or our
proposal for resolution of the Parent's complaint, you may contact Mr.
Dann Brittenham of my staff. The address and telephone number of this
Office are as follows:

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202-5901

202-260-3887

Sincerely,

**/s/**

LeRoy S. Rooker

Director

Family Policy Compliance Office

Enclosures

cc: Mr. David Yavoich

Parent

**(*Letter of Closing Below)***

#  

September 7, 2004

Mr. Don L. Bell

Superintendent

Northern Lebanon School District

P.O. Box 100

Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania 17026-0100

Dear Mr. Bell:

This is to inform you that we are closing the complaint filed by
(Parent) against the Northern Lebanon School District (District) under
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). By letter dated
June 28, 2004, this Office informed you of the Parent's complaint.

The Parent alleged the District violated rights afforded her under FERPA
by disclosing personally identifiable information from the education
records of her daughter (Student) without her prior written consent.
Specifically, the Parent alleged that the District sent to her a
postcard stating that the Student is not successfully completing
specified courses at school and will be placed on probation from her
activities. Our June 28, 2004, letter informed you that mailing such
postcards results in an unauthorized disclosure under FERPA because
anyone who reads the card would know that a student is not successfully
completing his or her class requirements. Such information generally
would come from a student's education records, so the disclosure of the
information without the parent's prior written consent would not be
permitted under FERPA.

In your July 14, 2004, letter, you informed this Office that the
District will no longer use postcards. Instead, the District will use
sealed envelopes when it mails personally identifiable information
obtained from students' education records. In addition, you stated that
the District will take appropriate actions to assure that District
principals, directors, and staff are informed about FERPA's privacy
requirements.

Based on the information the District has provided, we are closing the
investigation of this complaint and will so inform the Parent by copy of
this letter. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

**/s/**

LeRoy S. Rooker

Director

Family Policy Compliance Office

cc: Parent