As we've shared with families, virtual learning is embedded in each of the district's three phases of the RepMO Return to Learn Plan. As a district, we also have an obligation to protect the confidentiality of each student's educational records. Pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 C.F.R. part 99), the written consent of a parent or eligible student is required before the education records of a student, or personally identifiable information contained therein, may be disclosed to a third party, unless an exception to this general requirement of written consent applies.

While schools and districts must ensure that FERPA requirements are met in virtual learning settings, it's important to remember that FERPA applies to the disclosure of tangible records, and does not protect the confidentiality of information in general. The intent of this letter is to make our families aware that there may be times during virtual instruction provided by the district when third parties are present in the background and may overhear information being discussed with and/or among any of the students in a group, or even see other students participating in an instructional group. This kind of information is not considered to be part of a student's educational record, but instead is similar to the observations made by parents who visit their child's school building.

Protecting student privacy is important. As the school year begins, please keep in mind the following points in anticipation of the expanded use of virtual instruction for our students: