New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 6A - EDUCATION › Chapter 32 - SCHOOL DISTRICT OPERATIONS › Subchapter 7 - STUDENT RECORDS › Section 6A:32-7.1 - General considerations

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) This subchapter
				applies to all district boards of education, charter schools, renaissance
				school projects, approved private schools for students with disabilities, and
				private agencies that provide educational services by means of public funds.
				Throughout this subchapter, unless otherwise indicated, "district board of
				education" refers to the governing body for each of the five types of agencies.
(b) Each district board of
				education shall compile and maintain student records and regulate access in
				accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),
				20 U.S.C. §
										1232g, and 34 CFR Part 99, disclosure, or
				communication of information contained in student records in a manner that
				assures the security of the records in accordance with this subchapter.
(c) Student records shall contain
				only information that is relevant to the education of the student and is
				objectively based on the personal observations or knowledge of the certified
				school personnel who originate(s) the record.
(d) The district board of education shall
				provide annual, written notification to parents, adult students, and
				emancipated minors of their rights in regard to student records and student
				participation in educational, occupational, and military recruitment programs.
				Copies of the applicable State and Federal laws and district board of education
				policies shall be made available upon request. The district board of education
				shall make every effort to notify parents and adult students in their dominant
				language.
(e) Nonadult students
				may assert rights of access only through their parent(s). However, nothing in
				this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit certified school personnel from
				disclosing, at their discretion, student records to nonadult students or to
				appropriate persons in connection with an emergency, if the information
				contained in the record is necessary to protect the health or safety of the
				student or other persons.
(f) The
				parent or adult student shall have access to the student's records and have
				access to, or be specifically informed about, only the portion of another
				student's record that contains information about the student.
(g) Each district board of education shall
				establish written policies and procedures for student records that:
1. Guarantee access to persons authorized
				under this subchapter within 10 days of a request, but prior to any review or
				hearing conducted in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A;
2. Assure security of the student records;
3. Enumerate and describe the
				student records collected and maintained by the district board of
				education;
4. Provide for inclusion
				in a student record any educationally relevant information provided by the
				parent or adult student;
5. Allow
				for release of school contact directory information for official use, as
				defined in
				N.J.A.C.
				6A:32-7.2;
6. Provide the parent or adult student a
				10-day period to submit to the chief school administrator a written statement
				prohibiting the inclusion of any or all types of information about the student
				in any student information directory before allowing access to the directory
				and school facilities to educational, occupational, and military recruiters
				pursuant to
				N.J.S.A.
				18A:36-19.1 and P.L. 11495, § 8528,
				Armed Forces Recruiter Access to Students and Student Recruiting Information of
				the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015;
7. Provide, pursuant to (b) above, the parent
				or adult student a 10-day period to submit to the chief school administrator a
				written statement to exclude information from any school directory for official
				use;
8. Assure limited access to
				student records by secretarial and clerical personnel pursuant to
				N.J.A.C.
				6A:32-7.5;
9. Provide for the access and security of
				student records maintained in an electronic system; and
10. Maintain the confidentiality of all
				student records containing the name, Social Security number, address, and
				telephone number information, or the address for certified participants in the
				Address Confidentiality Program pursuant to N.J.A.C. 3A:71.