Parents’ Bill of Rights Policy

Purpose

This policy is adopted in accordance with the Georgia Parent’s Bill of Rights, O.C.G.A. §20-2-786. 

Review of Student’s Records  

In accordance with OCGA §20-2-786, parents shall be allowed to review all records relating to their minor child, including but not limited to current grade reports and attendance records. Parents shall also have access to information related to the School’s promotion and retention policies. 

Parents wishing to review their child’s records should submit a written request to the Principal or his/her designee, identifying the specific records being requested for review. Upon receipt of a request under this policy, the Principal or his/her designee shall locate the identified records in existence and notify the parent of the time and place where the records may be reviewed.  

To the extent practicable, identified records shall be produced for review within three (3) business days of receiving a written request. In any instance where some or all of the requested records are not available within three (3) business days, the School shall make available within that period the records that are available. For all other records, the Principal or his/her designee shall, within three (3) business days, provide a description of the identified records in existence and a timeline for when the information will be available for inspection. All remaining identified records shall be produced for review as soon as practicable but in no case more than thirty (30) days after receipt of the request. 

Records produced for review under this policy may not be altered or removed from the location identified for reviewing records, and in no case shall records be removed from school property.   

Pursuant to this policy, a parent may file an appeal, if the Principal or his/her designee fails to provide existing responsive information within thirty (30) days from the date of the request. An appeal must be filed within five (5) business days after the expiration of the thirty-day deadline. 

Electronic Copies of Student Records 

Upon written request by a parent, legal custodian, receiving school, or another person or legally authorized entity, the school shall immediately provide an electronic copy of a student’s complete education records, but no later than 5:00 PM on the third business day after receipt of the request. If any education records are not maintained or available in electronic format, the school must notify the requester when copies of those records will be ready for retrieval by 5:00 PM on the third business day after receipt of the request. This also includes all requests to transfer a current or former student’s records to the new public or private school to which that student has enrolled, intends to enroll, or is considering enrollment. 

Review of Instructional Materials

Pursuant to OCGA §20-2-786, parents have a right to review all instructional materials intended for use in the classroom of their minor child.  In accordance with state law, parents may exercise this right during the review period(s) each year. 

Under this policy, the Principal shall ensure that all instructional materials intended for use in the school’s classrooms in each grading period are made available for parent review during the review period. During this time, instructional materials may be made available for review on the School’s website or at the School upon written request by a parent. 

Objection to Instructional Material

The Principal shall appoint at least one person to receive parent objections to instructional materials under this policy. All objections must be in writing and submitted during the review period. A properly filed objection must include the following information:

• Student’s name 
• Student’s grade
• Parent’s name and contact information 
• Name of teacher who teaches the applicable subject/course 
• Clearly identify the instructional material to which the parent is objecting
• Briefly describe the nature of the objection

Upon receipt of an objection, the Principal shall review the objection and provide a response, in writing, within five (5) school days. 

Only objections filed, in writing, by the parent of a student in the identified classroom will be reviewed and receive a response. Pursuant to this policy, a parent may file an appeal of the Principal’s decision to a properly submitted objection within five (5) business days or receipt or within (5) business days of the time in which a response should have been provided by the Principal to a properly submitted objection.  

Sex Education 

During the review period, a parent may submit a written objection to the Principal, requesting that their child be withdrawn or excluded from the portion of any class in which sex education or AIDS prevention education is taught as part of a comprehensive health program pursuant to state law. 

In accordance with this policy, course materials shall be made available and a parent may request to review the instructional materials prior to withdrawing their student from the course.

The School shall notify parents if their child will be participating in a sex education course or AIDS prevention education in the same manner that it notifies parents of a student’s other course enrollment. 

Photo & Video Recordings

Within the first two weeks of each school year, a parent may submit a written notice to the

Principal that photographs or video or voice recordings of his or her child are not permitted. Such notice shall be submitted annually and will remain in effect for the duration of the school year or until the parent provides a written retraction, whichever is earlier. Provided however, this prohibition on recordings shall not apply for recordings made pursuant to applicable public safety and security exceptions.  

Appeals

Level I 

An appeal under this policy may be filed, in writing, with the Chair of the Governing Board.  To the extent practicable, the Chair must place a properly filed appeal on the agenda of the next public meeting. If it is too late to reasonably add a properly filed appeal to the next meeting’s agenda, it must be included on the agenda for the subsequent meeting. 

A properly filed appeal must be in writing and include: 

• Date on which appeal is being filed; 
• A copy of the original request or written objection; and 
• A detailed statement of the alleged violation or the reason for appeal. 

Level II

A parent aggrieved by the decision of the Governing Board under this policy may appeal to the State Board of Education. 

Definitions

For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions shall apply. 

1. “Critical Records” means the following education records of a student, which shall be current and complete for a period of at least the most recent 12 months of the student’s enrollment or the entirety of enrollment if less than 12 months: 
   1. Academic transcripts
   2. Attendance records
   3. Student discipline records, including but not limited to, all records of any: 
      1. Disciplinary orders of short-term suspension, long-term suspension, or expulsion; 
      2. Notices of a reports of criminal action made to law enforcement for investigation under OCGA §20-2-756;
      3. Notices to parent of any student identified as being a “chronic disciplinary problem student” under OCGA §20-2-765;
      4. Disciplinary and behavioral correction plans for chronic disciplinary problem students returning from expulsion or suspension under OCGA §20-2-766;
      5. Reports made based on reasonable cause that a student has committed a prohibited act under OCGA §20-2-1184;
   4. Records of the student having ever been adjudicated of the commission of a Class A or Class B designated felony act, including the date of adjudication and the jurisdiction where it was made, the offense committee, and the sentence imposed;
   5. IEP and Section 504 Plans; and 
   6. Psychological evaluations. 
2. “Education Records” means any record that is maintained by an LEA, a public or private elementary or secondary school, DJJ, or a party acting on behalf of these entities that is directly related to a student. This term includes, but is not limited to, records of a student’s enrollment, attendance, class schedule, academic transcripts, grades, student discipline records, student financial information, health records, special education records, psychological evaluations, and critical records. 
3. “Instructional Material” means instructional materials and content identified by the State Board of Education that constitutes the principal source of study for a state funded course to be used in the various grades in the public schools of this state, including the elementary grades and high school grades, which includes but is not limited to systematically designed material in any medium, including digital instructional materials and content and any computer hardware, software, and technical equipment necessary to support such instructional materials and content. The term includes locally approved instructional materials and content that constitute the principal source of study for a state funded course, not including supplementary or ancillary material, which is adopted by a local board of education or used by a local school system. Supplementary or ancillary material includes, but is not limited to, articles, online simulations, worksheets, novels, biographies, speeches, videos, music, and similar resources in any medium, including both physical or digital.
4. “Review Period” means the first two weeks of each grading period of the school year.   
5. “Sex education/AIDS education” shall have the same meaning as defined in State Board of Education Rule 160-4-2-.12.

The Principal shall develop procedures to implement this policy. A copy of this policy shall be posted on the School’s website.  

Nothing in this policy shall affect the obligations or rights provided under federal law, including but not limited to the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA).  

Authority: 

OCGA §20-2-143	Sex education and AIDS prevention instruction; implementation; student
	exemption
OCGA §20-2-667	Parent and student review of education records
OCGA §20-2-670	Transferring students, conditional admission, and compliance
OCGA §20-2-786	Parents’ Bill of Rights
OCGA §20-2-1010	Instructional materials and content.
OCGA §20-2-1017	Review process for locally approved instructional materials and content; public review; application

SBOE Rule 160-4-2-.12 Comprehensive health and physical education program plan