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Student Data Privacy Rights

For Northern Rivers Family of Services and member agencies

Neil Hellman School
60 Academy Road, Albany

School at Northeast
1821 Hamburg Street, Schenectady

Early Learning Center
125 Bigelow Street, Schenectady

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) gives parents and students certain rights with regard to education information. This notice explains your rights; how student information is used, protected, and may be disclosed; how you can get access to this information; and how to file a complaint if you have concerns.

What is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, provides parents with the right to inspect and review their and review their children’s education records; the right to seek to amend information in the records they believe to be inaccurate, misleading, or an invasion of privacy; and the right to consent to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from their children’s education records.

What rights do parents and eligible students have?
Parents have rights with regard to their children’s education records. When the student reaches age 18 or attends an educational institution above high school, these rights will transfer to the student who is then referred to as an “eligible student.”

What are my rights?
 Parents and eligible students have the right to:

  • Receive a copy of the education records: Send requests for education records in writing to the school where the student is enrolled or, for discharged students, to Northern Rivers Closed Records Department. You will receive a copy of the education records within 45 days after the written request is received.
  • Inspect and review education records from the school.
  • Request corrections. If you believe the student’s record is incorrect or misleading, you have the right to submit a request to the school to correct it. If the school denies your request to correct the record, you have the right to notify the Northern Rivers Privacy Officer to request a formal hearing. If you disagree with the decision made at the hearing, you have the right to place a statement in the student’s record contesting the information.
  • A student’s personally identifiable information cannot be sold or released for any commercial purposes.

How is education information released?
 Schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student to release any information from a student’s education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose records and to use student data, without consent in accordance with 34 CFR § 99.31.

Ways school staff may use student information:

  • Identifying students’ talents and special requirements
  • Monitoring students’ academic progress
  • Developing successful teaching and learning strategies
  • Developing educational tools for personalized learning

How is student information shared?
 Student information can be shared without consent with the following individuals or entities:

  • Other schools to which a student is transferring to
  • Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes
  • Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student
  • Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school
  • Accrediting organizations
  • To comply with a judicial order or court subpoena
  • Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies
  • State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific state law

How do I file a complaint?
If you feel your information has not been protected as outlined in this notice, you have the right to file a complaint with the Northern River’s Privacy Officer, listed below, or with the U.S. Department of Education:

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

If you have any questions, please contact:

Susanne Alterio
Privacy Officer
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
518.426.2600

Click here for a printable version of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Parent’s Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security
In Accordance with the New York State Education Department §2-d

Northern Rivers Family of Services is committed to ensuring student privacy in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations and district policies. To this end and pursuant to NYS Education Department regulations law §2-d, Northern Rivers provides the following Parent’s Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security.

Parents and eligible students can expect the following:

  1. A student’s personally identifiable information (PII) cannot be sold or released for any commercial purpose.
  2. The right to inspect and review the complete contents of the student’s education record stored or maintained by educational agency.
  3. State and federal laws, such as NYS Education Law §2-d and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), that protect the confidentiality of a student’s PII and safeguards associated with industry standards and best practices including, but not limited to, encryption, firewalls, and password protection, must be in place when data is stored or transferred.
  4. A complete list of all student data elements collected by NYS Education Department is available for public review at nysed.gov/data-privacy-security, and by writing to: Chief Privacy Officer, NYS Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234.
  5. The right to have complaints about possible breaches and unauthorized disclosures of student data addressed. Submit complaints to James Lovett, Data Privacy Officer, at 518.869.5325. Other ways to reach the NYS Education Department include online at nysed.gov/data-privacy-security; by mail to Chief Privacy Officer, NYS Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234; by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; or by telephone at 518.474.0937.
  6. To be notified in accordance with applicable laws and regulations if a breach or unauthorized release of their student’s PII occurs.
  7. Educational agency staff who handle PII receive training on applicable state and federal laws, the educational agency’s policies, and safeguards associated with industry standards and best practices that protect PII.
  8. Educational agency contracts with vendors that receive PII address statutory and regulatory data privacy and security requirements.

Definition of Terms Used Herein

  1. “Parent” means a parent, legal guardian, or person in parental relation to a student. These rights may not apply to parents of eligible students defined as a student 18 years or older. “Eligible Student” means a student 18 years and older.
  2. “Personally identifiable information,” as applied to student data, means personally identifiable information as defined in §99.3 of title 34 of the code of federal regulations implementing the family educational rights and privacy act, §1232-g of title 20 of the U.S.Code, and, as applied to teacher or principal data, means “personally identifying information” as such terms is used in subdivision 10 of §3012-c of this chapter.
  3. Information about other state and federal laws that protect student data such as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, and New York’s Personal Privacy Protection Law can be found at http://www.nysed.gov/ student-data-privacy/federal-laws-protect-student-data.

Click here for a printable version of the Parent’s Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security.

Model Notification of Rights Under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) affords parents of elementary and secondary students certain rights regarding the conduct of surveys, collection and use of information for marketing purposes, and certain physical exams. These include, but are not limited to, the following.

Voluntary Participation

Consent before students are required to submit to a survey that concerns one or more of the following protected areas (“protected information survey”) if the survey is funded in whole or in part by a program of the U.S. Department of Education:

  • Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or student’s parent;
  • Mental or psychological problems of the student or student’s family;
  • Sexual behavior or attitudes;
  • Illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
  • Critical appraisals of others with whom respondents have close family relationships;
  • Legally recognized privileged relationships, such as with lawyers, doctors, or ministers;
  • Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent; or
  • Income, other than as required by law to determine program eligibility.

Notices and Opt-Outs

Receive notice and an opportunity to opt a student out of:

  • Any other protected information survey, regardless of funding;
  • Any nonemergency, invasive physical exam or screening required as a condition of attendance, administered by the school or its agent, and not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of a student, except for hearing, vision, or scoliosis screenings, or any physical exam or screening permitted or required under state law; and
  • Activities involving collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for marketing or to sell or otherwise distribute the information to others. (This does not apply to the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the exclusive purpose of developing, evaluating, or providing educational products or services for, or to, students or educational institutions.)

Screening

  • Inspect, upon request and before administration or use, the:
  • Protected information surveys of students and surveys created by a third party;
  • Instruments used to collect personal information from students for any of the above marketing, sales, or other distribution purposes; and
  • Instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum.

Rights Transference

These rights transfer from the parent to a student who is 18 years old or an emancipated minor under state law. The School at Northeast and the Neil Hellman School will:

  • Develop policies, in consultation with parents, regarding these rights, as well as arrangements to protect student privacy in the administration of protected information surveys and the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information for marketing, sales, or other distribution purposes;
  • Directly notify parents of these policies at least annually at the start of each school year and after any substantive changes;
  • Directly notify, through the U.S. Post Office or email, parents of students who are scheduled to participate in the specific activities or surveys noted below and provide an opportunity for the parent to opt out the student from participating in the specific activity or survey;
  • Make this notification to parents at the beginning of the school year if the district has identified the specific or approximate dates of the activities or surveys at that time;
  • For surveys and activities scheduled after the school year starts, parents will be provided reasonable notification of the planned activities and surveys listed below and be provided an opportunity to opt out the student from such activities and surveys.
  • Provide parents the opportunity to review any pertinent surveys.

Following is a list of the specific activities and surveys covered under this direct notification requirement:

  • Collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for marketing, sales, or other distribution;
  • Administration of any protected information survey not funded in whole or in part by the U.S. Department of Education; and
  • Any nonemergency, invasive physical examination or screening as described above.

Complaints

Parents who believe their rights have been violated may file a complaint with:

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

Click here for a printable version of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.