The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and New Jersey student-record requirements provide parents and adult students with certain rights regarding student education records.

For purposes of this notice, an “adult student” is a student who is at least 18 years of age or is an emancipated minor.

Parents and adult students have the right to inspect and review applicable student education records.

A written request for access may be submitted to the Director of Pupil Personnel Services and should include:

• The student’s full name

• The student’s campus and grade level

• A description of the records the parent or adult student wishes to inspect

• The requester’s name and contact information

• The requester’s relationship to the student.

BCIT will contact the requester to arrange access and provide information about the time and location where the records may be inspected.

In accordance with New Jersey student-record requirements, access will be provided to an authorized parent or adult student within 10 days of the request and before any applicable review or hearing.

The district may charge a reasonable fee for reproducing student records. A fee will not be imposed if it would effectively prevent a parent or adult student from exercising the right to inspect and review the records.

A parent or adult student may challenge information contained in a student record on the grounds of:

• Inaccuracy

• Irrelevancy

• Impermissible disclosure

• Inclusion of improper information

• Denial of access to an authorized organization, agency, or person.

A parent or adult student may request:

• Removal of inaccurate, irrelevant, or otherwise improper information

• Addition of relevant information or reasonable comments regarding the meaning or accuracy of the record

• A temporary stay of disclosure while the challenge is being reviewed

• Access for an authorized organization, agency, or person that was denied access.

A formal request to change a student record or temporarily prevent its disclosure must be submitted in writing to the Superintendent and must identify the specific information and issues being challenged.

A copy of the request may also be provided to the Director of Pupil Personnel Services for processing.

Within 10 school days after receiving the written notification, the Superintendent or designee will notify the parent or adult student of the district’s decision. If the district does not agree with the request, the Superintendent or designee will meet with the parent or adult student to attempt to resolve the matter.

If the matter is not resolved, the parent or adult student will have 10 school days to appeal the district’s decision to the Board of Education. The Board will render a decision within 20 school days. The Board’s decision may be appealed to the New Jersey Commissioner of Education.

Regardless of the outcome, the parent or adult student may place a statement in the student record commenting on the contested information or explaining the reason for disagreement. The statement will remain with the contested portion of the record and will be disclosed whenever that portion of the record is disclosed.

Parents and adult students have the right to provide written consent before BCIT discloses personally identifiable information contained in a student’s education records, except when FERPA or another applicable law permits disclosure without consent.

One exception permits BCIT to disclose information to school officials who have a legitimate educational interest.

A school official may include:

• An administrator, supervisor, teacher, instructor, or support staff member

• Health or medical personnel

• School law-enforcement unit personnel

• A member of the Board of Education

• An attorney, auditor, consultant, therapist, contractor, or other individual performing an institutional service or function for BCIT

• A volunteer under BCIT’s direct control regarding the use and maintenance of education records

• A parent or student serving on an official committee

• A parent, student, or volunteer assisting another school official in performing assigned responsibilities.

A contractor, consultant, volunteer, or other outside party must perform an institutional service or function for which BCIT would otherwise use its own employees, remain under BCIT’s direct control regarding the use and maintenance of student records, and comply with applicable FERPA requirements.

A school official has a legitimate educational interest when access to an education record is necessary to fulfill the official’s professional responsibilities or perform an institutional service or function for BCIT.

BCIT may disclose education records, without prior consent, to officials of another school, school district, or educational institution in which the student seeks or intends to enroll, is already enrolled, or receives services when the disclosure is related to the student’s enrollment or transfer.

BCIT will provide written notification to the parent or adult student when original mandated student records are forwarded to a receiving educational agency or institution, as required by New Jersey student-record regulations.

Upon request, a parent or adult student may receive a copy of the records disclosed to another educational agency or institution.

BCIT Board of Education Policy and Regulation 8330 permit the district to publish a student information directory for authorized district personnel and designated official use. The directory is not intended for general public consumption.

If BCIT publishes a student information directory, it may include:

• Student’s name

• Grade level

• Date and place of birth

• Dates of school attendance

• Major field of study

• Participation in officially recognized activities

• Weight and height related to athletic-team membership

• Degrees and awards

• Most recent educational agency attended

• Other similar information.

If BCIT publishes a student information directory, parents and adult students will receive a 10-day period to submit a written request prohibiting the inclusion of some or all of the student’s information.

BCIT maintains a separate school contact directory for official use containing each student’s:

• Name

• Address

• Telephone number

• Date of birth

• School of enrollment.

Information from this directory may be provided for official use only to authorized judicial and law-enforcement personnel and medical personnel currently providing services to the student.

A parent, adult student, or emancipated minor may submit a written request to exclude information from the school contact directory for official use.

The request should identify the student and the information to be excluded.

Federal law requires BCIT, upon request, to provide military recruiters and representatives of institutions of higher education with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of secondary students.

BCIT will not release this information if the parent—or the student after reaching 18 years of age—submits a written request prohibiting the disclosure.

BCIT will provide parents and adult students with an annual opportunity to submit a written opt-out request. The annual notice will identify the submission deadline and applicable procedures.

A written opt-out request should include:

• The student’s full name

• The student’s campus and grade level

• A statement that the student’s name, address, and telephone number may not be released to military recruiters or institutions of higher education without prior written consent.

When a student reaches 18 years of age, rights regarding student records generally transfer to the adult student.

A parent may have access to an adult student’s records with the adult student’s written permission. A parent may also have access without the adult student’s consent when the adult student remains financially dependent on the parent and enrolled in the public school system or has been declared legally incompetent by a court.

A parent who receives access to the records of a financially dependent adult student may not disclose information from those records to another party without the adult student’s consent.

Student health records are maintained separately from other student records and are protected in accordance with FERPA and applicable New Jersey laws and regulations.

Access to and disclosure of student health information is limited to authorized individuals. Certain specially protected health information may be subject to additional federal and State confidentiality requirements.

Upon a student’s graduation or permanent departure from BCIT, the parent or adult student will be notified in writing that a copy of the student’s entire record will be provided upon request.

Certain student records may be disposed of in accordance with New Jersey law and applicable records-retention requirements.

BCIT must retain certain mandated student information for 100 years, including:

• Student’s name and date of birth

• Parent information

• Gender

• Health and immunization history

• Standardized assessment results

• Grades

• Attendance

• Classes attended

• Grade level completed

• Year completed

• Years of attendance

No information will be added to a student’s record after graduation or permanent departure without the prior written consent of the parent or adult student.

Parents and adult students may file a complaint concerning an alleged failure by BCIT to comply with FERPA.

Student Privacy Policy Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202

Related Board Policies and Regulations

Additional information is available in the following BCIT Board of Education policies and regulations:

• Policy 8330  – Student Records

• Regulation 8330 – Student Records

• Policy 8335 – Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

• Policy 5308 – Student Health Records