FERPA

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGY CENTER AT ATHENS adheres to the guidelines developed by Department of Health, Education, and Welfare regarding the privacy rights of parents and students.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records.  They are:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the school receives a request for access.
Students should submit to the Assistant Director written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect.  The Assistant Director will make arrangements for access and notify the 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 student believes are inaccurate or misleading.  Students may ask the school to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading.  They should write the Assistant Director, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.  If the school decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the school will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment.  Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.

3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA  authorizes disclosure without consent, such as information concerning crimes or subpoenas issued by court or law enforcement agencies.  One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests.  A school official is a person employed by the school in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.  A school official 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 compliant with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Tennessee Technology Center at Athens to comply with requirements of FERPA.  The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
600 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20202-4605

The following items of student information are classified as directory information and may be released by the Tennessee Technology Center at Athens with the consent of the student:  Name, Address, Date and Place of Birth, Dates of Attendance, Certificate and/or Diploma awarded, Training Area, Enrollment Status, and Previous Schools Attended.

The school may disclose information concerning sex offenders under state sex and offender registration and community notification programs.  The federal Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act and the Tennessee College and University Campus Sex Crimes Act of 2002 require that whenever a sex offender becomes employed, enrolls as a student or volunteers at an institution of higher education in the State of Tennessee, he or she must complete or update the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) sexual offender registration/monitoring form and deliver it to TBI headquaters in Nashville.