Data Privacy

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students who are 18 years of age or older ("eligible students") certain rights with respect to the student's education records. These rights are:

1.The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days after the day the Patchogue-Medford School District receives a request for access.

Parents or eligible students should submit to the school principal, or appropriate school official, a written request that identifies the records they wish to inspect. The school official will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.

2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.

Parents or eligible students who wish to ask the district to amend a record should write the school principal, or appropriate school official, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the school decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the school will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible student when notified of the right to a hearing.

3.The right to provide written consent before the school discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is 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) or a person serving on the school board. A school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the school who performs an institutional service of function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of education records, such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist; a parent or student volunteering to serve 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.

4.The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the district to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202

Under the law, the Patchogue-Medford School Union-Free District 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 the Patchogue-Medford School District to include this type of information from your child’s education records in certain school publications. Examples include, but are not limited to:

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

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 prior written consent. Outside organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks.

The Patchogue-Medford School District has designated the following information as directory information:

• Student’s name
• Address
• Telephone Listing
• Electronic Mail Address
• Photograph
• Date and Place of Birth
• Major Field of Study
• Dates of Attendance
• Grade Level
• Participation in Officially Recognized Activities and Sports
• Weight and Height of Members of Sports Teams
• Degrees, Honor, and Awards Received
• The Most Recent Educational Agency or Institution Attended
• Student ID number, user Id, or Other Unique Personal Identifier used to communicate in Electronic Systems which cannot be used to Access Educational Records without a PIN, Password, etc. (A student’s SSN cannot be used, in whole or part, for this purpose)

In addition, two federal laws, Section 9528 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. §7908) amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and 10 U.S.C. §503 as amended by §544 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, require local educational agencies (“LEAs”) that receive ESEA assistance to provide military recruiters, upon request, with the following information: students’ names, addresses and telephone listings. The LEA must provide this information unless parents/guardians or students have advised the LEA that they do not want the student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent.

If you do not want the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District to disclose directory information from your student’s education records without your prior written consent, you must notify the District in writing using the attached form. The Reservation of Consent Form can be found below. 

Please contact the Office of the District Clerk, at (631) 687-6370, with any questions you may have.

Please see copy of the District’s FERPA policy (available on District’s website) for more information.

You may also refer to the Federal Government’s Family Policy Compliance Office website at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/index.html

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law and Board of Education Policy #1111, the district will provide copies, upon requests of specific documents or records which are in its possession.

There are certain exceptions to which documents or records must be released.  The district is not obligated, under law, to respond to questions or create documents/reports to respond to a request.

Requests may be filed either in person at the District Office, via mail using the appropriate form. 

Questions can be directed to Theresa DeLeva, District Clerk and Freedom of Information Officer at (631) 687-6370.

What is New York State Education Law 2-D?
Pertains to the unauthorized release of personally identifiable information (PII).

The Board of Regents adopted Part 121 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education on January 13, 2020. These rules will implement Education Law Section 2-d and provide guidance to educational agencies and their third-party contractors on ways to strengthen data privacy and security to protect student data and annual professional performance review data. The regulation went through multiple sets of revisions and three rounds of public comments and will go into effect January 29, 2020.  It will apply to both charter and traditional public schools. 

NYS Education Law Section 2-d Inventory of Data Elements