Below you will find information about your rights related to:

• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

• Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)

• Release of Student Information to Military Recruiters, College/University Recruiters, or Prospective Employers

FERPA affords parents and students who are 18 years of age or older ("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 after the day the Montville Township Public Schools receive a request for access.
   
   Parents or eligible students who wish to inspect their child’s or their education records should submit to the school principal a written request that identifies the records 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 Montville Township Public Schools to amend their child’s or their education record should write the school principal, 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 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 provide written consent before the school discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from 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. The criteria for determining who constitutes a school official and what constitutes a legitimate educational interest must be set forth in the school’s or school district’s annual notification for FERPA rights. A school official typically includes a person employed by the school or school district as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel) or a person serving on the school board. A school official also may include a volunteer, contractor, or consultant who, while not employed by the school, performs an institutional service or function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist; a parent or student volunteering to serve 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 typically has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the Montville Township Public Schools 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

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law, requires that the Montville Township Public Schools, with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records. However, the Montville Township Public Schools may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless you have advised the the Montville Township Public Schools to the contrary in accordance with the Montville Township Public Schools procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the the Montville Township Public Schools to include information from your child’s education records in certain school publications. Examples include:

• A playbill, showing your student’s role in a drama production;

• The annual yearbook;

• Honor roll or other recognition lists;

• Graduation programs; and

• Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing weight and height of team members.

Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent’s prior written consent. Outside organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks. In addition, two federal laws require local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) to provide military recruiters, upon request, with the following information – names, addresses and telephone listings – unless parents have advised the LEA that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent.

If you do not want the Montville Township Public Schools to disclose any or all of the types of information designated below as directory information from your child’s education records without your prior written consent, you must notify the the Montville Township Public Schools in writing by September 10th of the current school year. The Montville Township Public Schools has designated the following information as directory information:

• Student's name

• Address

• Telephone listing

• Electronic mail address

• Photograph

• Date and place of birth

• Major field of study

• Dates of attendance

• Grade level

• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports

• Weight and height of members of athletic teams

• Degrees, honors, and awards received

• The most recent educational agency or institution attended

• Student ID number, user ID, or other unique personal identifier used to communicate in electronic systems but only if the identifier cannot be used to gain access to education records except when used in conjunction with one or more factors that authenticate the user’s identity, such as a PIN, password, or other factor known or possessed only by the authorized user

• A student ID number or other unique personal identifier that is displayed on a student ID badge, but only if the identifier cannot be used to gain access to education records except when used in conjunction with one or more factors that authenticate the user's identity, such as a PIN, password, or other factor known or possessed only by the authorized user. 

• A Parent Guide to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

• Guía para padres sobre la Ley de Derechos Educativos y Privacidad Familiar (FERPA)

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 right to:

• 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 (ED)–

  • Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or student’s parent;

  • Mental or psychological problems of the student or student’s family;

  • Sex behavior or attitudes;

  • Illegal, anti-social, 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.

• Receive notice and an opportunity to opt a student out of –

  • Any other protected information survey, regardless of funding;

  • Any non-emergency, 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.)

• Inspect, upon request and before administration or use –

  • 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.

These rights transfer from the parents to a student who is 18 years old or an emancipated minor under State law.

The Montville Township Public Schools have adopted 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. Montville Township Public Schools will directly notify parents of these policies at least annually at the start of each school year and after any substantive changes. Montville Township Public Schools will also directly notify, such as through U.S. Mail or email, parents of students who are scheduled to participate in the specific activities or surveys noted below and will provide an opportunity for the parent to opt his or her child out of participation of the specific activity or survey. Montville Township Public Schools will 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 their child out of such activities and surveys. Parents will also be provided an 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 ED.

• Any non-emergency, invasive physical examination or screening as described above.

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

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

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving assistance under ESEA, upon request, to provide certain student information to military recruiters, institutions of higher education, and/or prospective employers [ESEA Section 8528].

ESEA Section 8528 outlines provisions that give military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as recruiters from postsecondary institutions or prospective employers and, when requested, requires LEAs to provide students’ names, email addresses, addresses, and telephone numbers to military recruiters. The Montville Township Public Schools must provide this information unless a parent of a student who is younger than 18 years of age, or a student who is age 18 or over, opts out by notifying the school in writing that they do not consent to release this information.

If your child is younger than 18, and you do not consent to the disclosure of this information, you must complete, sign, and return the nondisclosure form (PDF) to the Montville Township Public Schools by September 10th of the current school year. If your child is 18 years of age or older, they determine whether to consent to release the information, and they complete, sign, and return the nondisclosure form (PDF) to the Montville Township Public Schools by September 10th of the current school year. If a nondisclosure form is not returned by the designated date of September 10th of the current school year, your child's information will be released upon request.