Student & Parent Privacy Rights
Avoyelles Parish Schools is committed to protecting student privacy and ensuring that parents, guardians, and eligible students understand their rights regarding education records, surveys, instructional materials, screenings, and student information.
FERPA & PPRA
Federal laws provide important protections for students and families regarding education records, surveys, instructional materials, and student privacy.
FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records and provides parents and eligible students certain rights concerning those records. Parents generally have the right to inspect and review education records maintained by the school district that are directly related to their child, subject to applicable federal requirements and exceptions.
PPRA
The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) provides parents and students certain rights involving surveys, evaluations, instructional materials, marketing activities, and certain physical examinations or screenings. Parents also have rights to inspect certain materials and surveys as provided under federal law.
Records & Instructional Materials
Parents and eligible students have rights related to reviewing education records and instructional materials used in a student's education.
Access to Education Records
Parents and eligible students have the right to inspect and review education records maintained by the school district that are directly related to the student, in accordance with FERPA and applicable federal requirements.
Access to Instructional Materials
Under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), parents have the right to inspect certain instructional materials used as part of their child's educational curriculum.
Louisiana law also provides parents the right to review instructional materials used by or administered to their child and to review surveys before they are administered or distributed to students, in accordance with applicable law and district procedures.
Louisiana law establishes parental rights related to reviewing instructional materials and requires public school governing authorities to establish procedures for providing parents access to instructional materials upon request.
Read the Full Text of R.S. 17:355Parents' Bill of Rights for Public Schools
Louisiana law provides parents of public school students important rights concerning their child's education and access to school information.
Understanding Your Rights
Under Louisiana's Parents' Bill of Rights for Public Schools, parents have rights related to their child's education, including access to information, instructional materials, records, school calendars, fees, and other educational matters.
- Review textbooks, curriculum, and supplemental instructional materials used in their child's classroom.
- Access their child's education records in accordance with applicable law.
- Receive information about their child's school and educational program.
- Receive the annual school calendar and notice of revisions to the calendar.
- Receive information about required student fees, including their purpose and use and information about addressing economic hardship.
- Exercise other parental rights provided under Louisiana law concerning their child's public education.
Legal Citation: Louisiana Revised Statute 17:406.9 — Parents' Bill of Rights for Public Schools
Surveys, Evaluations & Screenings
Federal law provides parents specific rights when certain surveys, evaluations, analyses, or screenings ask students for information concerning protected areas.
Student Surveys & Evaluations
Before administering a survey, evaluation, or analysis that solicits information relating to PPRA-protected areas, applicable parental notification, inspection, and consent requirements must be followed.
Mental & Behavioral Health Screenings
Certain mental or behavioral health screening instruments may ask students about emotional well-being, psychological conditions, internalized distress, social interactions, or other protected information.
Parent Notification & Consent: When a survey, analysis, or evaluation seeks information within a PPRA-protected category, applicable federal parental notification and written-consent requirements must be followed before administration.
PPRA Protected Areas
The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment provides protections when certain surveys, analyses, or evaluations ask students to disclose information concerning the following protected areas.
- 1 Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student's parent
- 2 Mental or psychological problems of the student or the student's family
- 3 Sex behavior or attitudes
- 4 Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior
- 5 Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships
- 6 Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers
- 7 Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or the student's parent
- 8 Income, other than as required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program
Parental Consent
When applicable under PPRA, parents must be provided notice and an opportunity to provide consent before a student participates in a survey, analysis, or evaluation involving protected information.
Student Information & Privacy
Federal law provides protections related to the disclosure and use of student information, including directory information, information provided to military recruiters, and information used by online educational services.
Directory Information
FERPA permits school districts to identify certain student information as directory information. Parents and eligible students are provided notice and an opportunity to request that designated directory information not be disclosed, in accordance with district procedures.
Military Recruiters
Federal law requires school districts receiving certain federal funds to provide military recruiters access to specific student information unless a parent or eligible student has requested that the information not be released.
Online Educational Services
Student information may be used with online educational services and digital tools for legitimate educational purposes. Avoyelles Parish Schools follows applicable student privacy requirements when educational technology services are used.
Annual Notification & Student Privacy Resources
Families are encouraged to review information about student privacy rights and protections each year.
FERPA & PPRA Resources
Avoyelles Parish Schools provides parents and eligible students information about their rights under FERPA and PPRA. Additional information about FERPA, PPRA, annual notices, and student privacy is available from the U.S. Department of Education Student Privacy Policy Office.
Questions About Student Privacy?
If you have questions about student records, privacy rights, surveys, instructional materials, or related district procedures, contact your child's school or the Avoyelles Parish Schools Central Office for assistance.
Avoyelles Parish Schools Central Office: 318-253-5982