Parent Rights

FERPA is a federal privacy law that gives parents certain rights and protections with regard to their child’s education records, such as report cards, transcripts, disciplinary records, contact and family information, and class schedules. Parents have the right to inspect and
review their child’s education records and to request changes under certain circumstances. The law also gives these rights to students who have reached 18 years of age.
Process for reviewing Student records
Parents must submit to their child’s principal a written request that identifies the records that they wish to inspect and review. The principal shall make arrangements for access and notify the parent of the time and place where the records may be inspected. Per
law, the records must be made available to the parent within 45 days of receipt of their request. Parents have a right to special education records within ten (10) calendar days of the receipt of their request.

Process for amending Student records

Parents may also request that the school district amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. To request an amendment to student records, parents
must submit a written request to the school principal. Written requests should clearly identify the part of the record to be amended and the reason(s) why this part
of the record is inaccurate or misleading. If the request to amend is denied, the parent will be notified by the principal and advised of their right to a hearing to appeal
the decision.

Release of Student Information

To protect our students’ privacy, PPSD cannot disclose personally identifiable information about its students to anyone other than parents or guardians without written permission (from the parent or guardian). Under FERPA, there are 10 exceptions in which personally identifiable information may be disclosed including:

• Disclosures made to school officials with legitimate educational interests. School officials include: A person employed by the School as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel); a person serving on the School Board; a person or company with whom the School has outsourced services or functions it would otherwise use its own employees to perform (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, therapist, community-based organization or service agency); a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee; or a parent, student, or other volunteer 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.
• Disclosures to an organization with which PPSD has entered into an agreement to conduct a study or research on behalf of PPSD for the purpose of improving instruction. Disclosures made to another school at which the student intends to enroll.
• Disclosures made to state or local education authorities for auditing or evaluating federal (or state)supported education programs, or enforcing federal laws that relate to those programs.
• Disclosures including information the school has designated as “directory information.”
• Disclosures in connection with the application for or receipt of financial aid.
• Disclosures made to state and local juvenile justice systems or their officials.
• Disclosures made to accrediting organizations.
• Disclosures in compliance with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.
• Disclosures in connection with a health or safety emergency.

Student Directory Information

If you are not receiving messages from your school, please contact your child’s school as soon as you become aware. Please provide your child’s school with updated contact information.
FERPA requires that Providence Schools, with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records. However, PPSD may disclose appropriately designated “directory
information” without written consent, unless you have advised the District to the contrary in accordance with District procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow PPSD to include this type of information from your child’s education records in certain school publications.

Examples include:

• A playbill, showing your student’s role in a drama production;
• The annual yearbook;
• Honor roll or other recognition lists;
• Graduation programs; and Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing weight and height of team members.

Student Directory Information is information contained in a student’s education record that generally would not be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. As allowed by the FERPA law, Providence Schools has identified the following items as directory
information:

• Name of student
• Address of student
• Student grade level
• Student school of attendance
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Weight and height of members of athletic teams
• Degrees and awards received, including honor roll and graduation lists
• Telephone listing (released to military only unless parent ‘opts-out’)

FERPA gives parents the right to have their child’s directory information kept private and not released to anyone, which means that the school district will not provide any of this information to the public, including military recruiters. By law, military recruiters upon
request are provided with three directory information categories for high school juniors and seniors – names, addresses and telephone listings – unless parents have advised PPSD that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written
consent. Parents have two options for withholding their child’s directory information. They can choose to withhold information from all sources or they can choose to withhold information from the military only.

Process for parents to ‘opt-in’ of releasing student directory information

Parents must complete the Student Directory Information form in order to release their child’s student directory information. This form is sent home with students during the first week of school. This form must be completed and returned to the child’s school by October 15th of this school year. Providence Schools begins releasing directory information upon approved request by November 1st of the school year. Please contact your child’s principal or the FACE Office at (401) 456-0686 if you have not received the Student Directory Release ‘Opt-in’ form.

FERPA Complaint Process

Parents have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the school district to comply with FERPA requirements. Complaints should be sent to: Family Policy Compliance Office, US Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-5920.

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) gives parents and students (18 years or older or emancipated) certain rights when a school conducts student surveys collects and uses information for marketing purposes, and administers certain physical exams to students.

Parental Consent is required before students can be given a survey that concerns one or more of the following protected areas (“protected information survey”), if the survey is funded in whole or in part by a program of the US Department of Education:

• Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or student’s parent;
• Mental or psychological problems of the student or student’s family;
• Sex behavior or attitudes;
• Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
• Critical appraisals of others with whom respondents have close family relationships;
• Legally recognized privileged relationships, such as with lawyers, doctors, or ministers;
• Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or parents;
• Activities involving collection, disclosure, or use of personal information obtained from students for marketing or to sell or otherwise distribute the information to others.
• Any other protected information survey, regardless of funding;
• Any non-emergency, invasive physical exam or screening required as a condition of attendance, administered by the school or its agent, and not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of a student, except for hearing, vision, or scoliosis screenings, or any physical exam or screening permitted or required under State law;

Parents may inspect the following, upon request and before administration or use –

• Protected information surveys of students;
• Instruments used to collect personal information from students for any of the above marketing, sales, or other distribution purposes; and
• Instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum.

The Providence Public School District has adopted a policy to protect student privacy in the administration of protected information surveys and the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information for marketing, sales, or other distribution purposes. Providence
Schools will directly notify parents of these policies at least annually at the start of each school year and after any substantive changes.

The District’s Office of Data and Assessment reviews all internal and external requests to conduct surveys to ensure that ethical procedures are documented and PPRA is followed. PPSD will also directly notify parents of students who are scheduled to participate in specific activities or surveys and will provide an opportunity for the parent to opt his or her child out of participation in the specific activity or survey.

Parents who believe their rights have been violated may file a complaint with: Family Policy Compliance Office, US Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-5920.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act – the federal law governing education from kindergarten through high school. As part of this law, parents have clearly defined rights and choices regarding their children’s education. Specifically, ESSA includes provisions that parents be notified by the Providence School Department of the following:

Right to request teacher qualifications

Parents of students in Title I schools (schools that receive federal assistance due to their high poverty level) have a “right to know” about the qualifications of their child’s classroom teachers and paraprofessionals [ESSA Title 1 Part A, SEC. 1112(e)(1)(A)]. Parents may request, and Providence Public Schools will provide on request in a timely manner, any of the following:

• Whether your child’s teacher has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
• Whether your child’s teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.
• Whether your child’s teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of their certification.
• Whether your child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

If any parent is interested in obtaining any of the above information, he/she should submit the request in writing to:

Providence Public School District, Attn: Human Resources – Teacher Qualifications, 797 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903.

Right to transfer their child froma “persistently dangerous school” or if their child is the victim of a violent criminal offense while in or on the grounds of his or her school.
Parents of children in schools defined as “persistently dangerous,” according to criteria established by RIDE, will have the option to transfer their child out of the school; however, transportation is not provided. The same option is provided to parents of a child who is the victim of a violent criminal offense while in or on the grounds of his or her school. [SEC. 9532(a)]

Right to be part of the development of and/or review the Providence SchoolDepartment parent involvement policy. Parents have a right to know about and be involved in the development and improvement of the School Department parent involvement policy, which sets forth the district’s framework for parent engagement. [SEC. 1116(a)(2)]

Right to be notified about the performance of their child’s school on the annual state assessment.
Parents are entitled to annual updates about the performance of their child’s school on the state assessment, including information about the school’s overall strengths and weaknesses. This notification will be provided annually in writing. In addition to information about the overall school performance, parents will receive detailed information about their individual child’s assessment results. [SEC. 1112(e)(1)(B)(i)]

Right to receive a description of the District’s English Learner (EL) programs and their options for their child.
Parents of students who are identified as English Learners are entitled to receive a description of the district EL programs and their rights under the law in a language they can understand. Within 30 days of the start of the school year, or within two weeks for students placed later in the school year, parents of ELs will receive notice that includes, for example, the reason for EL identification, their child’s level of English proficiency, parents’ rights, including the right to waive out of EL program placement on a yearly basis, and other important information. [SEC. 1112(e)(3)(A-C)]

Right to be notified in an understandable format
The notices and information provided to parents regarding the above-mentioned rights shall be in an understandable and uniform format and written, to the extent practicable, in a language that parents can understand. If it is not practicable for a written translation, it may be orally translated and made available in alternate formats accessible to parents with disabilities upon request. [SEC. 1112(e)(4)]

For more information, please call the Family and Community Engagement Office at 401-456-0686 or face@ppsd.org.

Parents of children in schools defined as “persistently dangerous,” according to criteria established by RIDE, will have the option to transfer their child out of the school; however, transportation is not provided. The same option is provided to parents of a child who is the
victim of a violent criminal offense while in or on the grounds of his or her school. For more information call (401) 456-0686.

Parents are entitled to annual updates about the performance of their child’s school on the state assessment, including information about the school’s overall strengths and weaknesses. This notification will be provided annually in writing. In addition to
information about the overall school performance, parents will receive detailed information about their individual child’s assessment results.

Parents of students who are currently participating in MLL programs, as well as parents whose children who have been newly identified for participation in MLL programs, are entitled to a description of the program and their rights under the law. For more information, please call (401) 456-9256.

The notices and information provided to parents regarding the above-mentioned rights shall be in an understandable and uniform format and written, to the extent practicable, in a language that parents can understand. If it is not practicable for a written translation, it may be orally translated and made available in alternate formats accessible to parents with disabilities upon request. [SEC. 1112(e)(4)]

Pursuant to the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in Mahmoud v. Taylor, 606 U.S. __,145 S.Ct. 2332, 2360 (2025), parents have the right to remove their children from class when books or other material they sincerely consider to be religiously objectionable are being taught. Parents interested in examining the curricular materials that will be used in their child’s classroom are welcome to contact their building principal and make an appointment to do so.

If a parent then seeks to have their child opt out of a particular class when material they find religiously objectionable is being taught, they will indicate it when signing off on the student handbook acknowledgement form.