Student Records & Privacy Information

The Kenmore Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District is committed to protecting the privacy and security of student, teacher, and principal data. In accordance with Education Law § 2-d, the District wishes to inform the school community of the following:

1. A student’s personally identifiable information cannot be sold or released for any commercial purposes.
2. Parents have the right to inspect and review the complete contents of their child’s education record.
3. State and federal laws protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information, 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 the State will be available for public review both online and via regular mail from the State Education Department. The website and mailing addresses will be listed here when they are made available.
5. Parents have the right to have addressed complaints about possible breaches of student data. N.Y. Education Law § 2-d (3)(b).

Please address any complaint to Assistant Superintendent for Finance Geoff Pritchard at 716-874-8400 or via email nmorasco@ktufsd.org. If you prefer to contact Assistant Superintendent Morasco using regular mail, please address your correspondence to:

Geoff Pritchard
Kenmore Town of Tonawanda U.F.S.D.
1500 Colvin Boulevard
Buffalo, NY 14223

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. §1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are “eligible students.”

Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student’s education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.

Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student’s education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR §99.31):

• School officials with legitimate educational interest; 
• Other schools to which a student is transferring; 
• 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 lawfully issued subpoena; 
• Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and 
• State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools may disclose, without consent, “directory” information such as parent contact information, student’s name, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, grade level, dates of attendance, degrees, honors, awards received and photographs. If you DO NOT want the District to disclose this directory information from your child(ren)’s education records without your prior written consent, you must notify the District in writing to: Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District, Attn: Community Relations Coordinator, 1500 Colvin Blvd., Buffalo, NY 14223, by the end of September. Please note that if you do not want the District to disclose directory information and notify the District of this decision, the District will not disclose any of the above listed directory information (directory information is not a list of choices for parents) which may preclude your child(ren) from being highlighted in District publications, identified in the yearbook or recognized for his/her accomplishments.

At times, children in Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Schools may be interviewed, photographed or recorded during the school day in order to recognize their academic, extracurricular, and athletic achievements; to report on the positive work taking place in our schools; to highlight special events, activities, and projects; for educational purposes; and to educate the community about the District and its schools. This includes:

• District e-newsletter
• Slideshows at student assemblies and ceremonies
• News releases to local newspapers such as the Ken-Ton Bee
• The District website and social media pages
• District publications such as the District Calendar

Also, representatives from outside media outlets such as newspapers and television stations occasionally desire to visit our schools during the school day to report on educational matters and highlight student accomplishments and distinctions. It is not unusual for students to be interviewed and for photographs or video of students to be featured for print and broadcast purposes.

To best protect students, you may choose to exclude your child from any of these communications by completing the “Exclusion from Student Photographs, Interviews and Recordings” form and returning the form to your school. Copies of this form are available at your child’s school and at www.ktufsd.org/photoform.

The “Exclusion from Student Photographs, Interviews and Recordings” form does not constitute written notification regarding the disclosure of directory information as specified under FERPA, and this form does not include yearbooks. If you do not wish for your child to be included in yearbooks, please contact your child’s school. Parents who notify the District regarding the disclosure of directory information as specified under FERPA will automatically be excluded from District communications. At any time, parents who choose to have their children excluded may change their preference either indefinitely or only for a specific purpose by contacting your child’s school.

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) governs the administration to students of a survey, analysis, or evaluation that concerns one or more of the following protected areas:

• Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student's parent/guardian;
• Mental or psychological problems of the student or the student's family;
• Sex behavior or attitudes;
• Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
• Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
• Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;
• Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student's parent/guardian; or
• Income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).

PPRA also concerns marketing surveys and other areas of student privacy, parental access to information, and the administration of certain physical examinations to minors.

You can access the District's Student Privacy, Parental Access to Information, and Administration of Certain Physical Examinations to Minors Policy (#7250) at www.ktufsd.org/policies.

Parents/guardians may provide written consent or opt their child out of participation in the following activities in accordance with law and the surveys conducted:

1. The administration of any survey containing one or more of the protected areas.
   • U.S. Department of Education-Funded Surveys: Prior written consent from parents is required before students can submit to the survey.
   • Surveys funded by sources other than U.S. Department of Education: Notification may indicate the specific or approximate dates during the school year when surveys will be administered and provide an opportunity for the parent to opt his or her child out of participating upon receipt of the notification.
2. 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).
3. Any non-emergency, invasive physical examination or screening that is required as a condition of attendance; administered by the school and scheduled by the school in advance; and not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of the student, or of other students. The term "invasive physical examination" means any medical examination that involves the exposure of private body parts, or any act during such examination that includes incision, insertion, or injection into the body, but does not include a hearing, vision or scoliosis screening.

Parents of a secondary student (or the student, if he or she is at least 18 years of age) have the opportunity to submit a written request to opt out of disclosure of the student's name, address, and telephone listing to military recruiters and institutions of higher education (IHEs). If a written opt out request is submitted to the student's school, the District will not disclose the student's information to military recruiters or IHEs without the parent's (or student's, if he or she is at least 18 years of age) prior written consent.