Special Education Alphabet Soup
Notice to Parents of Students with Disabilities
Students’ files maintained by the East Central Kansas Cooperative in Education are considered to be confidential. Safeguards and procedures to govern access of pupil records to all parties have been established with the schools the Cooperative Office. These procedures are consistent with the intent of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) as amended and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Special education files are maintained at the Cooperative Office by the director of the Cooperative and in each of the schools of participating districts by building principals. A list of the types and locations of educational records collected, used and maintained by the Cooperative, as well as the officials responsible, is available to parents or eligible students upon request.
Records shall be released without prior consent only to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception which permits disclosure without consent is to school officials with legitimate educational interests. 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. Upon request, the Cooperative discloses education records without consent to officials of another school district in which a student intends or seeks to enroll.
Under regulations of IDEA, parents or eligible students have the right to:
- Inspect and review the student’s record;
- Request an amendment of the student’s education records;
- Refuse to consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information, except to the extent that federal laws authorized the Kansas State Board of Education or the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures to comply with state and federal confidentiality requirements; and
- Obtain a copy of the Cooperative’s confidentiality policies and procedures.
Policies are in English but may be translated if needed. Contact the Cooperative Office at 1-785-594-2737 for further information.