Over the years, the district came to realize that the press/media’s use of newer forms of communication were blurring the lines of parent consent and making it harder and harder to communicate to parents what they were consenting to release. As newspapers and television stations began to use social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and websites more to communicate news, it became more important to be more specific as we asked for parent permission.

FERPA Directory Information
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records, gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records, and requires that Lexington County School District One obtain your written consent or the student’s written consent if over 18 years of age, with certain exceptions, prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records.

FERPA Directory Information deals with personally identifiable information in each child’s educational records and information that the district maintains through PowerSchool, for instance. This is information that schools use as part of the daily educational process such as grades, home address, telephone numbers and for internal use in honor rolls, annuals, height and weight for basketball, football or wrestling programs, recognition lists, newsletters, playbills, programs (including graduation and athletic programs), etc.

The district routinely discloses directory information to outside organizations that contract with the district such as companies that manufacture class rings, take school photographs, or publish school annuals or yearbooks.

FERPA specifically has a reference to military recruiters in the law. So, in compliance with the law, the district also routinely discloses directory information (name, address, telephone number) to military recruiters, upon request. Here’s a link to more information about FERPA.

Student Media Consent and Release
The Media Consent and Release form allows us to determine whether parents want their children to appear in any form of public media or media that has the potential to be public such as the district’s own social media posts, television or newspaper stories and photographs, internal or external videos, radio interviews, newsletters, publications, etc. 

At the beginning of the year, the student’s parent or legal guardian is asked, through a Media Consent and Release form, to give Lexington District One and its employees, representatives and authorized media organizations permission to print, photograph and record their child for use in audio, video, film or any other electronic, digital or printed media. You can view the form here.

The Media Consent and Release form allows us to determine whether parents want their children to appear in any form of public media or media that has the potential to be public such as the district’s own social media posts, television or newspaper stories and photographs, internal or external videos, radio interviews, newsletters, publications, etc.