The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law, requires that the District, with certain exceptions, obtain written consent from parents, guardians or from students who are 18 years of age or older (“eligible students”), prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the student’s education records. The main exception is that the District may disclose designated “directory information” without written consent, unless the parent, guardian or eligible student has informed the District that prior written consent is required before disclosing the directory information. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the District to include this type of information from the student’s education records in certain school publications.

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, guardian’s or eligible student’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 the District to provide military recruiters, upon request, with the names, addresses and telephone listings of the students unless parents or guardians have advised the District that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent.

If a student’s parent, guardian or an eligible student, does not want the District to disclose directory information from the student’s education records without prior written consent, the student’s parent, guardian or an eligible student must notify the District in writing within thirty (30) days of the beginning of the school year or, if enrolling after the beginning of the school year, within thirty (30) days of enrollment.

The District has designated the following information as directory information:

1. Student’s name;
2. Address;
3. Telephone listing;
4. Name(s) of Parent(s)
5. Photograph;
6. Date and place of birth;
7. Dates of attendance;
8. Grade level;
9. Participation (including video) in officially recognized activities and sports;
10. Weight and height of members of athletic teams;
11. Degrees, honors, and awards received;
12. The most recent educational agency or institution attended.

The District shall provide, by November first of each year, a list of students by name in grades seven to twelve, inclusive, together with their mailing addresses, to the executive director of the Board of Regents and to each postsecondary technical institute located in the state unless the parent has directed that the District not release directory information about the student.

The District shall provide to military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to postsecondary educational institutions or to prospective employers of those students; and shall, upon a request made by military recruiters for military recruiting purposes, provide access to secondary school student names, addresses, and telephone listings, unless the parent of the student has submitted a request to the District that the student’s information not be released without prior written parental consent

The District shall annually notify parents of the types of student directory information released. The notice will include:

1. An explanation of the parent’s or eligible student’s right to request that information not be disclosed without prior written consent;

2. Notice that the school routinely discloses names, addresses, and telephone numbers to the South Dakota Board of Regents and, upon request, to military recruiters, subject to a parent’s or eligible student’s request not to disclose such information without written consent; and

3. Notification on how the parent or eligible student may opt out of the public, nonconsensual disclosure of directory information and the method and timeline within which to do so.