| Traverse City Area Public Schools |
| Bylaws & Policies |
2416 - STUDENT PRIVACY AND PARENTAL ACCESS TO INFORMATION
The Board of Education respects the privacy rights of parents and their children. No student shall be required to participate as part of the school program or the District’s curriculum without prior written consent from the student’s parent. An adult or an emancipated minor cannot be required to participate as part of the school program or the District’s curriculum unless prior written consent has been received. Prior written consent applies to any federally funded project, survey or evaluation that reveals information concerning:
| A. | political affiliations or beliefs of the student or his/her parents’; | |
| B. | mental or physical problems of the student or his/her family; | |
| C. | sex behavior or attitudes; | |
| D. | illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating or demeaning behavior; | |
| E. | critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships; | |
| F. | legally-recognized privileged and analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers; | |
| G. | religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or his/her parents; or | |
| H. | income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such a program). |
The Superintendent shall ensure that procedures are established whereby parents may inspect any materials used in conjunction with any such survey, analysis, or evaluation.
Further, parents have the right to inspect, upon request, a survey or evaluation created by a third party before the survey/evaluation is administered or distributed by the school to the student. The parent will have access to the survey/evaluation within a reasonable period of time after the request is received by the building principal.
Additionally, parents have the right to inspect, upon request, any instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum of the student. The parent will have access to the instructional material within a reasonable period of time after the request is received by the building principal. The term instructional material means instructional content that is provided to a student, regardless of its format, including printed and representational materials, audio-visual materials, and materials in electronic or digital formats (such as materials accessible through the Internet). The term does not include academic tests or assessments.
The Superintendent is required to provide notice directly to parents of students enrolled in the District of the substantive content of this policy at least annually at the beginning of the school year, and within a reasonable period of time after any substantive change in this policy. In addition, the Superintendent is directed to notify parents of students in the District, at least annually at the beginning of the school year, of the specific or approximate dates during the school year when the following activities are scheduled or expected to be scheduled:
| A. | Activities involving the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or for selling that information (or otherwise providing that information to others for that purpose); and | |
| B. | The administration of any survey by a third party that contains one (1) or more of the items described in A through H above. |
The District must make sure that all parents, especially divorced parents with joint custody are kept informed. For purposes of this policy, the term "parent" includes a legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis (such as grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the welfare of the child)
20 U.S.C. 1232(g)(h)
Revised 12/94
Revised 7/05