The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students over 18 years of age ("eligible students")certain rights with respect to the student's education records. These rights are:

1. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the School receives a request for access.

   Parents or eligible students should submit to the School principal [or appropriate school official] a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The School official will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
   
   

2. The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA.

   Parents or eligible students who wish to ask the School to amend a record should write the School principal [or appropriate school official], clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the School decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the School will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible student when notified of the right to a hearing.
   
   

3. The right to privacy of personally identifiable information in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

   One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the School as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel); a person serving on the School Board; a person or company with whom the School has outsourced services or functions it would otherwise use its own employees to perform (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist); a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee; or a parent, student, or other volunteer assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

   Another exception permits a school to non-consensually disclose personally identifiable information from a student's education records when such information has been appropriately designated as directory information. Directory information is information contained in the education records of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.
   
   

4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the School to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

   The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are:

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

Certain information about students is considered directory information and will be released, for school endorsed purposes only, to anyone who follows the procedures for requesting the information unless the parent or guardian objects to the release of the directory information. Directory information is defined as information contained in the education records of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Each year during registration, parents are provided an opportunity to designate their preference for release of director information about their children. Parents may change this designation at any time by submitting their request to the school or district in writing.

Hays CISD has designated the following items as directory information:

Student name; address; telephone listing; electronic mail address; photographs; video and audio recorded for a school-endorsed purpose; age; major field of study; degrees, honors, and awards received; dates of attendance; grade level; most recent educational institution attended; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; and weight and height of members of athletic teams.

Hays CISD defines “School-Endorsed Purposes” as including the following: yearbook, school pictures, graduation-related services and products, campus directories, newsletters, campus and district websites and social media, awards, honors, student artwork or creative product that is not considered an educational record, displays, extra and co-curricular programs or events, campus and district photos, campus and district videos, news media, business of publicly elected officials in Texas that specifically relates to their offices, student alumni group and reunion committees, and other circumstances that aid the district in accomplishing its mission.

The district will not release directory information for any purpose other than a school-endorsed purpose, unless required to do so by law.