STUDENT RECORDS
Regulations Pertaining Student Records
Federal Law, State Laws, and the State Board of Education regulations apply to all information kept by a school committee on a student in a manner such that he or she may be individually identified. The regulations divide the record into two sections, the transcript and the temporary record. The transcript includes only the minimum information necessary to reflect the student's educational progress. This information includes name, address, course titles, grades, credits, and grade level completed. The transcript is kept by the school system for at least sixty years after the student leaves the system.
The temporary record contains the majority of the information maintained by the school about the student. This may include such things as standardized test results, class rank, school sponsored extracurricular activities, and evaluations and comments by teachers, counselors, and other persons, as well as other similar information. The temporary record is destroyed within five years after the student leaves the school system. The school is required to abide by state and federal record regulations.
Inspection of Records
A custodial parent, a non-custodial parent who has met state requirements for receiving records, or a student, who has entered the ninth grade or is at least 14 years old, has the right to inspect all portions of the student record upon request. Records must be made available to the parent or student no later than two days after the request, unless the parent or student consents to a delay.
The parent and student have the right to receive copies of any part of the record, although a reasonable fee may be charged for the cost of the duplicating materials.
Finally, the parent and student may request to have parts of the record interpreted by a qualified professional of the school, or may invite anyone else of their choosing to inspect or interpret the record with them.
Confidentiality of Record
With few exceptions, no individual or organizations but the parent, student and
school personnel working directly with the student are allowed to have access to
information in the student record without the specific, informed, written consent of the parent or the student.
Amendment of Records
The parent and student have the right to add relevant comments, information, or other written materials to the student record. In addition, the parent and student have a right to a conference with the school principal to make their objections known. Within a week after the conference, the principal must render a decision in writing. If the parent and student are not satisfied with the decision, the regulations contain provisions through which the decision may be appealed to higher authorities in the school system.
Destruction of Records
The regulations require that certain parts of the student record, such as the temporary record, be destroyed a certain period of time after the student leaves the school system. School authorities are also allowed to destroy misleading, outdated, or irrelevant information in the record from time to time while the student is enrolled in the school system. Before any such information may be destroyed, the parent and the student must be notified, and have an opportunity to receive a copy of any of the information before its destruction.
Grade 8 Records
Records for those students who have completed grade 8 will be transferred to M.V.R.H.S. each year by July 1. Only copies of the report cards from grades 5-8, standardized test scores, and 766 Special Needs records will be transferred. All other records will be destroyed. By law, parents must be informed of their right to pick up any of the non-transferred records. Please inform the Main Office by the end of the year if you plan to pick up any of your 8th grader's records. Otherwise they will be destroyed.
Notice
Under the provisions of Massachusetts Law 603 CMR 23.07(4) no third party shall have access to information in or from a student record without the specific, informed written consent of the eligible student or the parents.” However, “a school may release a student's name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, weight and height of members of athletic teams, class, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, degrees, honors and awards without the consent of the eligible student or parent.” Any parent or student may request in writing that this information not be given out.