Student Planner 2013-14 - Pinkerton Academy

Classroom Teacher ChangesIt is not Pinkerton Academy’s policy to move a student from one teacher to another teacher unless there is a compellingreason or unless it is to accommodate a student’s schedule (or IEP). Every effort should be made to identifyand correct the situation. The following conversations and meetings are required prior to moving a student from oneteacher’s class to another teacher’s class, preferably in the order listed:1. Student/teacher conversation;2. Student/parent/teacher conversation;3. Student/parent/teacher/guidance counselor/case coordinator (if applicable) conversation; and4. If necessary, student/parent/teacher/guidance counselor/case coordinator (if applicable)/department chair/administrator meeting.The purpose of the above conversations/meetings is to identify the issue(s) and determine a possible resolutionof the issue(s). If the resolution is to change teachers, existing guidance procedures will be followed.Annual Notice to Students and Parents of Students of Pinkerton Academy regarding their rights under theFamily Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (“FERPA”) (20 U.S.C. 1232g) and regulationsadopted by the US Department of Education (34 CFR 99.1 et seq.) grant parents and students who are 18 years ofage or older (“eligible students”) certain rights relative to the student’s education records maintained by PinkertonAcademy, Derry, NH.However, if a parent/guardian still claims the eligible student as a dependent on the IRS income tax forms, thatparent retains the right to access to the student’s educational records.Rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 include:First, a parent or an eligible student, as is appropriate, may inspect and review the education records of thatstudent. Parents or eligible students should submit a written request that identifies the records they wish to inspect;such requests should be submitted to the Dean of Academic Affairs. Pinkerton Academy will make the requestedrecords available to the parent or eligible student within 45 days of the date that Pinkerton Academy received therequest. The right to inspect and review educational records includes the right to a response from Pinkerton Academyto a reasonable request for explanations and interpretations of records, and the right to obtain copies of suchrecords upon payment of a copying fee. In accord with FERPA, the Academy maintains a record of all requests for,and disclosures of information from, the student’s educational records.Second, parents or eligible students .may ask Pinkerton Academy to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate,misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. A parent or eligible studentwho wishes to amend a record should write to the Dean of Students, clearly identifying the part of the record theywant changed, and specifying why it is inaccurate or misleading, or invades the privacy rights of the student. IfPinkerton Academy decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the Academy willnotify the parent or eligible student of the decision and of their right to a hearing regarding the request for the amendment.Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible, student uponrequest, or when notified of the right to a hearing.If, after a hearing, a parent or eligible student’s request to have a student’s education records amended is denied,the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement in the student’s education records commenting on thecontested information contained in such records and/or setting forth their reasons for disagreeing with the decisionof the Academy.Third, parents and eligible students have the right to provide written consent before Pinkerton Academy disclosespersonally identifiable information from a student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizesdisclosure without consent.It is the policy of Pinkerton Academy to disclose, without consent, educational records, including disciplinary records,upon request from officials of another school or school system in which a student seeks or intends to enroll, oris already enrolled, if the disclosure is for purposes of the student’s enrollment or transfer. Upon request, the Academyshall give the parents or eligible student a copy of the records that were disclosed, and, upon request, it shall givethe parent or eligible student the opportunity for a hearing in accord with FERPA and its implementing regulations.One of the situations where information regarding a student may be released without prior written consent iswhen the data consists of “directory information.” According to the policy adopted by the Pinkerton Academy Board2