Cumulative student file

[ajasfolks2]

Documentation is documentation.

OCR will take a long, looooooong time to wade through everybody's everything.

You've seen the documentation website, yes?

http://www.dphilpotlaw.com/html/record_keeping.html

Be sure to spend time there reading and digesting the details . . . worth a re-read for anybody dealing with schools in any manner.

[nonuts4me]

Hi Socks,
School records are changed, added, deleted, manipulated, and lied about, and there is not a darn thing you can do about it...except you may ask for them specifically if you are lucky enough to know what is missing.

Things you can do to help yourself:

Ask for all records at one time. I'll try to dig out my letter I used. I got it from an attorney website and it was wonderful. It covered everything.

Take a scanner or phone to take scans photos right then. Often if you ask for them later, the docs suddenly disappear.

If you need more time, write a note (ask them for a copy right then) documenting your request for more time.

Count the number of pages that are in each notebook/file. Document the number of pages so you can see what is missing.

Write down summaries of discrepancies, issues, and events that you find inconsistent or outstanding. Mark them with sticky notes.

Note the handwriting style of individuals so you can recognize it on other notes to make sure the same person really did write the note. Often staff will add handwritten notes later to help cover for their mistakes/lies, but it is sometimes not the same person they claim wrote it.

Reschedule as many visits as it takes to document EVERYTHING. If something is missing, then ask for it in writing while you are there (and ask for a copy of your note.)

[ajasfolks2]

Each state has latitude as to where/how to maintain the records so long as they are within the FERPA rules.

Each state may then give each school district latitude as to where/how to maintain records.

Some districts may keep the full student educational record at a central location.  Others keep a copy at central location (or the original) and then a copy goes to the school (or the original).

Other districts keep NOTHING centrally and it is all at schools.

Getting the records and/or viewing the records is different then, state-by-state or even district-by-district.

I think nonuts4me info may be from the same law website I linked above.

[ajasfolks2]

"Cumulative" file may NOT be everything.

Key words for request may be:


"General Education Record" or "Student Education Record"

Look up what your state calls it in their published rules and regulations.

[nonuts4me]

  Yes, ajas, this is the same website I used as a reference.

IMHO, records are a dead end mostly because of the enforcement of FERPA.

For the most part, there is not much meat to the FERPA enforcment, it is much much less week than DOE OCR in most cases, and hard to document and prove.

Even if you prove it, so what! Not much will happen.

IMHO the only reason to go ballistic over school records is if you are going to court. Other than that, records can throw you off track because of all the lies and inconsistencies they may contain. As a diligent parent, most of us would want to defend ourselves....

which throws us off the 504 trail.

Aren't school attorneys clever!?