A number of revisions to board policy need to be made as a result of two recent federal laws – No Child Left Behind (reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - ESEA) and the Patriot Act (anti-terrorism legislation). Boards need to analyze the changes to determine to what extent they will need to revise or add policies. Please recognize that this is an ever-evolving law ant issues addressed here may change as a result of U.S. Department of Education regulation.
Title I Parental Involvement, Title I, Sec. 1118
Each school district that receives Title I funds must adopt, in conjunction with and upon approval by parents of Title I students, a parental involvement policy. The policy must include how the district will:
1. involve parents in the development of the Title I plan, the process for school review of the plan and the process for improvement;
2. provide the coordination, technical assistance and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent-involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance;
3. build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement;
4. coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under Title I with other programs such as Head Start, Reading First, etc.;
5. conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the school served, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in Title I activities (with particular attention to low-income parents, Limited English Proficient (LEP) parents, minorities, parents with disabilities and parents with low literacy) and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement and to revise, as necessary, the parental involvement policies; and
6. involve parents in Title I activities.
In addition to the board policy, each individual school that receives Title I funds must also adopt a policy, written in conjunction with and approval or parents, that describes how the building will implement #3-#6 above. Parents must be provided with the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.
Directory Information and Parental Notification, Title IX, Sec. 9528 (NCLB) Patriot Act,
Because of an amendment to the Family Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in the recent No Child Left Behind legislation, school districts have two additional student records notice requirements. The first is a minor amendment and only needs to be added if your school district has the intent of selling or marketing your student directory information. The law now requires school districts to notify parents if the school district intends to sell or market its student directory information. It is IASB’s impression that few, if any, school districts will be selling this information.
The other change to FERPA was partly in the NCLB and partly in the Patriot Act, anti-terrorism bill, and addresses access by military recruiters and postsecondary institutions to student information. The law allows both groups to access students’ names, addresses and phone numbers, whether or not they are included in directory information. So, for those school districts that do not include names, addresses or phone numbers as part of directory information, parents should be notified that military recruiters and postsecondary institutions can still access the information without prior parental consent. Parents still have the option, however, of withholding the name, address and phone number from military recruiters and postsecondary institutions.
The sample notice has additional language to be used by the school districts that eliminate one or more of these items. There is a second directory information form for those same school districts.
The other change regarding military recruiters is that they have the same right of access to students as post secondary institutions and potential employers have. So, if your district provides access to students by colleges and universities, you need to provide that same access to military recruiters when requested. No notice requirements are included with this provision.
Safe and Drug Free Schools, Title IV, Sec. 4114
Schools must have appropriate and effective school discipline policies that prohibit disorderly conduct, the illegal possession of weapons, the illegal use, possession, distribution, and sale of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Schools must also have security procedures at school and while students are on the way to or from school (this is of great concern as it’s not defined) and a crisis management plan. Schools must also have a code of conduct policy for all students that clearly states the responsibilities of students and licensed employees in maintaining a classroom environment that:
1. allows a teacher to communicate effectively with all students;
2. allows all students in the class to learn;
3. has consequences that are fair and developmentally appropriate;
4. considers the student and the circumstances of the situation; and
5. is enforced accordingly.
Gun-Free, Title IV, Sec. 4141
The major change here is that no longer is “bringing” a weapon to school the only act prohibited by the law, “possession” is also now prohibited and covered by the year suspension. The law also includes an exception for firearms lawfully stored inside a locked vehicle on school property or if it is for activities approved and authorized by the district and the district adopts appropriate safeguards to ensure student safety. Boards that want to exempt firearms lawfully stored in a locked vehicle on school property need to add that language to the policy and have procedures to ensure student safety. The IASB sample policy did not change as it already prohibited “bringing” as well as possession.
Boy Scouts, Title IX, Sec. 9525
Schools that receive funds from the United States Department of Education (USDE), with designated open forums or limited public forums, cannot deny access to any youth group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts or any other group defined by law as a patriotic society, for reasons based on membership or leadership criteria, or oath of allegiance to God and country, the Boy Scouts or other patriotic society. Youth is defined as under age 21. Limited public forum is whenever the school grants an offering to, or opportunity for, one or more outside youth or community groups to meet on school premises or in school facilities before or after school hours. While no specific policy language is required, boards should review their policies to ensure no policy violates this new language. It is doubtful any Iowa boards have language that would violate this new mandate, but policies regarding use of school facilities or on student groups should be reviewed.
Prayer, Title IX, Sec. 9524
The USDE will biennially provide guidance to schools on the issue of constitutionally protected prayer. (As of this printing, no guidance has yet been issued.) Also, as a condition of receiving ESEA funds, a school district must certify to the state Department of Education (DE), that the school district does not have a policy that prevents or denies participation in constitutionally protected prayer in school. Again, as with the Boy Scouts directive, its doubtful boards have policies that impact constitutionally protected prayer, but policies should be reviewed to ensure none exist.
Homeless, Title X, Sec. 722
The only real change in the new federal law impacting Iowa is the appointment of a homeless coordinator to monitor and track activities. The law removes a number of barriers that are already present in Iowa law – transportation, student records, selection of attendance center, discrimination, etc.
Hatch Amendment, Title X, Sec.1061
There are a number of changes to the Hatch Amendment, which protects student privacy rights outside of the student records policy. The law now states (new language is underlined):
No student shall be required, as part of any applicable program, to submit to a survey, analysis or evaluation that reveals information concerning:
1. political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent;
2. mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family, (struck “potentially embarrassing to the student or family”)
3. sex behavior or attitudes; (used to be “and”)
4. illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating or demeaning behavior; (used to be “and”)
5. critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
6. legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians and ministers;
7. religious practices, affiliations or beliefs of the students or student’s parent, or
8. income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).
Boards that receive funds under any applicable program must adopt, in consultation with parents, policies that address the following six items. The school must also provide reasonable notice to parents of the continuation of the policies at least annually at the beginning of the school year and within a reasonable time after an amendment. The school must also give the parents the opportunity to opt their child out of the activity.
1. the right of the parent to inspect a survey created by a third party before that survey is administered by the school to students; also must include any applicable procedures for granting the request within a reasonable time;
2. arrangements to protect student privacy rights when a survey is administered by the school which contains one of the prohibited eight from above, including the right of the parent to inspect the survey;
3. the right of a parent to inspect any instructional material in the student’s curriculum, including procedures for granting access within a reasonable time; (Most boards already have this policy in place.)
4. the administration of physical exams or screenings the school may administer;
5. the collection, disclosure or use of student personal information for the purpose of marketing or selling that information, or providing the information to others for that purpose, including arrangements to protect student privacy in the event of such collection, disclosure or use. (Student personal information is defined as a student or parent’s name, address, telephone number or Social Security number.) This does not include personal information collected for the exclusive purpose of developing, evaluating, or providing educational products or services for, or to, students or educational institutions such as: (See Appendix D.)
a. postsecondary institutions or military recruiters;
b. book clubs, magazines and programs providing access to low-cost literary products;
c. curriculum and instructional materials used by K-12 schools;
d. tests and assessments used by K-12 to provide cognitive, evaluative, diagnostic, clinical, aptitude, or achievement information about students, or to generate other statistically useful data for the purpose of securing these tests and assessments, and the subsequent analysis and public release of the aggregate data from these tests and assessments;
e. the sale by students of products or services to raise funds for school or education related activities; or,
f. student recognition program.
6. the right of a parent to inspect the instrument used to collect student personal information before use, including any applicable procedure for granting a request within a reasonable time.
For specific events, the school must notify the parents annually of the projected or approximate dates of the following activities:
1. the collection, disclosure or use of student personal information for the purpose of marketing or selling that information, or providing the information to others for that purpose;
2. the administration of a survey containing any of the eight items above; and
3. any non-emergency, invasive physical exam that is required as a condition of attendance, administered by the school in advance of attendance and not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of the student or other students. Invasive physical exam is defined as any “medical examination that involves the exposure of private body parts, or any act during such examination that includes incision, insertion or injection in to the body, but does not include a hearing, vision, or scoliosis exam.”
East Buchanan Community School District