FERPA Notification of Student Rights

Student Rights under FERPA
Annually, Polk State College informs currently attending students of their rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the regulations relating to FERPA Public Law 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99 promulgated by the Department of Education and Florida Statute 1002.22. These rights include:

The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access.
- A student should submit to the Admission and Registrar’s Office a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. A College official makes arrangements for access and notifies the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained or are not obtainable by the Admission and Registrar’s Office, the student is informed as to whom the request should be addressed.
The right to request the amendment of education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.
- A student may request that such records be amended if he or she believes those records to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of his or her privacy rights. The student must follow Polk State College’s procedures to request a change in records. Procedures vary depending on the change requested. A request to amend record(s) should be submitted in writing to the Registrar, and must clearly identify the record and the requested change. If the College decides not to amend the records, the student is notified in writing. Students have the right to appeal by completing a petition with an academic advisor. The Petition Committee provides the student with its final decision in writing.
The right to provide written consent before the College discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
- The College discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom Polk State College has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using the College’s employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or 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 responsibilities for the College. Upon request, the College also discloses education records without consent to officials of another school for the purpose of improving pathways for the educational pursuit of students.
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The address of the Family Policy Compliance Office is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-5901
Phone: 202 260-3887 Fax: 202 260-9001
E-mail: ferpa@ed.gov

Students are notified of their FERPA rights annually in the Polk State College Catalog and on the College’s website.