From the Our Duty Substack:
Dear Readers,
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requires that schools provide parents with their pupil’s school records. Federal funding depends on public schools to follow this federal law. FERPA states in relevant part,
“No funds under any applicable program shall be made available to any State educational agency (whether or not that agency is an educational agency or institution under this section) that has a policy of denying, or effectively prevents, the parents of students the right to inspect and review the education records maintained by the State educational agency on their children who are or have been in attendance at any school of an educational agency or institution that is subject to the provisions of this section.”
“Education records” means that records that “(i) contain information directly related to a student; and (ii) are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a person acting for such agency or institution,” but do not include records that are “in the sole possession of the maker thereof and which are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a substitute.”
Therefore, if a school has a secret social transition plan that is shared among teachers, staff and counselors – well – those would be EDUCATION RECORDS and parents have a right to access those secret transitions plans, or even documents that just note what their child wants to be called or pronouns she or he uses. To see if your school is a “liar, liar pants on fire”, send in a request for records like the one below.
We threw in a request for the information that the school or third parties who spy on the students via the school iPads, Chrome Books or other methods. Many states are similar to California which captures this data. Why are they doing this? We will save that for another day….. I will leave with this….
“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” Vladimir Lenin.
Form Request to see if your School is Transitioning your Child
Send this request every month. You never know when the school will finally trick your child into believing that he or she was born wrong and must adopt a gender identity in order to be authentic. (If you are not from California, you can omit the references to the California law or search for your state’s public records rules.)
Dear [Superintendent] and Principal [ ] :
This letter is to request access to records in the possession of the __________ School District and ________________School, including all members of school boards, Superintendents, school counselors, teachers and staff (collectively, the “Schools”), for the purpose of inspection and copying pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 7921.000, Article 1, Section 3 of the California Constitution, Cal. Ed. Code Section 51101 (10)[1] and pursuant to FERPA.
I am the parent of [USE YOUR CHILD’S LEGAL NAME ONLY]. The information that I ask to inspect is as follows:
1. For the time period of [Insert dates when your child started School to present/or left school], all records, documents, reports, memorandum, writings, notes, emails, text messages and any electronic records of [CHILD’S LEGAL NAME] born on [CHILD’s BIRTH DATE] (the “Pupil”) inclusive of official and unofficial, “shadow files” and social transition plans, or records evidencing that the School is using a different name for the Pupil then his/her legal name.
2. For the time period of [Insert dates when your child started School to present/or left school], all records, documents, reports, memorandum, writings, notes, emails, text messages, and any electronic records related, referring to, or discussing the name and pronoun that is to be used when communicating with Pupil at _____________High School (including teachers, administration and staff.)
3. For the time period of [Insert dates when your child started School to present/or left school], all records, documents, reports, memorandum, writings, notes, emails, text messages and any electronic records related, referring to, or discussing the Pupil’s gender identity.
4. For the time period of [Insert dates when your child started School to present/or left school], all records, documents, reports, memorandum, writings, notes, emails, text messages, and any electronic records related, referring to, or discussing the Pupil’s parents.
5. For the time period [Insert dates when your child started School to present/or left school], all records, documents, reports, memorandum, notes, emails, text messages, and any electronic records related, referring to, or discussing whether to keep the Pupil’s chosen name and pronoun confidential from Pupil’s parents.
6. For the time period of [Insert dates when your child started School to present/or left school], all of Pupil’s records, reports, memorandum, writings, emails, text messages and other electronic records maintained by any third-party, pursuant to Section 49073.1 of the Education Code.
7. For the time period of [Insert dates when your child started School to present/or left school], all of Pupil’s records, reports, memorandum, writings, emails, text messages and other electronic records maintained by any third-party of Pupil’s social media kept or tracked by [School] or any third party pursuant to Section 49073.6 of the Education Code.
This request reasonably describes identifiable records or information to be produced from that record. If you are feel you are unable to comply with this requires because you believe it is not focused, please reference California Government Code Section 7922.600 which requires you to (1) Assist me in identifying the records and information that are responsive to my request or to the purpose of my request; (2) Describe the information technology and physical location in which the records exist; and (3) Provide me with suggestions for overcoming any practical basis for denying access to the records or information that I am seeking.
Request for Information in Electronic Format Pursuant to
Government Code sections 7922.570 (b) & 7922.580 (b).
I am seeking these records in any and all electronic formats your office keeps them in. Under the Public Records Act, the District’s office is required to deliver the information in whatever electronic format it is in no matter whether it is Excel, Word, WordPerfect or some other program or programs. Government Code sections7922.570 (b) & 7922.580 (b). My request extends to receipt of this information in the electronic format your office maintains these records in except emails should be in pdf format. Delivery of this information to me by electronic mail [ ] or via a thumb drive or via a disk is fine. I can supply the District with a thumb drive if needed. Please advise what electronic format these records are kept in.
In addition, if there are documents that satisfy this request that are in both electronic and paper formats, please provide the electronic version of those records. It is hoped that this will save the District and me time, trouble and expense.
If you anticipate that data compilation, extraction, or programming will be required to satisfy a request, please provide a written estimate and justification for same. Given the high profile of this matter with the public and the recentness of the date of any responsive records, a compilation, extraction or programming should not be required to obtain responsive documents.
I ask that you make the record(s) “promptly available, for inspection and copying, based on my payment of fees covering direct costs of duplication, or statutory fee, if applicable.” I believe that no express provisions of law exist that exempt the record(s) from disclosure. As you determine whether this request copies of decibel public record, be mindful that article 1, Section 3(b) (2) of the California constitution requires you to broadly construe a statute, court rule, or other authority if it furthers the right of access to the information I have requested and to narrowly construe a statute, court rule, or other authority if it limits my right to access.
If you determine that an express provision of law exists to exempt disclosure of all or a portion of the material I have requested, provide me with notification as to the reasons for the determination not later than 10 days from your receipt of this request.
Thank you for your prompt attention to my request.
Respectfully,
[SIGNATURE]
[NAME]
[1] Pursuant to Cal. Ed. Code Section 51101, parents and guardians of pupils enrolled in public schools have the right to access the school records of their child, as well as question anything in their child’s record that the parent feels is inaccurate or misleading or is an invasion of privacy and to receive a response from the school. (Cal. Ed. Code §51101(10) and (15).)
