It is the policy of the Atlanta Board of Education that accurate and complete student academic and discipline records shall be maintained for each student enrolled in the Atlanta Public Schools. Confidentiality of student records shall be preserved in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Access to education records shall be provided only to individuals authorized to access confidential information.

APS will not release personally identifiable information from an education record without prior written consent of the parent, guardian or eligible student except under the following circumstances:

• Disclosures will be made to school administrators, teachers, or other professionals employed or associated with APS who have some role in evaluating, or educating or providing support services to students that necessitates access to student information.

• Student records will be forwarded without further notice to parents, guardians or eligible students to any school within or outside APS, upon request of a school in which a student is enrolling or has enrolled.

• Disclosures will be made to designated contractors, vendors, consultants and external researchers acting on behalf of APS or with legitimate educational interests in using student information as authorized by the Superintendent or his/her designee.

• Disclosures will be made to federal or state officials in connection with the audit of educational programs.

• Disclosures will be made on federal, state, or other school applications of the student to determine the eligibility for, and amount of, aid as well as enforcement of the terms and conditions of financial aid.

• Disclosures will be made to comply with state law, Internal Revenue Service laws and regulations, judicial orders, or lawfully issued subpoenas. A reasonable effort will be made to notify parents or students in advance of such disclosures.

• Disclosures will be made to organizations conducting studies on behalf of, or by, educational institutions as specified in federal regulations to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.

• Disclosures may be made to accrediting institutions to carry out their accrediting function.

• Disclosures will be made in connection with a health or safety emergency.

• Disclosures of “directory information” relating to individual students will be made under limited circumstances without the written consent of the parent, legal guardian or eligible student. These circumstances include when posted in schools such as on displayed student work, when printed in school or district publications such as graduation programs or school playbills, and when disclosed to the United States military; colleges, universities and other postsecondary institutions; scholarship-granting organizations; and other entities as approved by the superintendent or his/her designee.

Parents, legal guardians and eligible students may opt to have no directory information released.

The board designates the following information as directory information:

The superintendent shall notify, on an annual basis, students and parents/guardians, including non-English-speaking parents/guardians, of their rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The board authorizes the superintendent to issue administrative regulations to implement this policy.