From: Jon
Swett, LC Principal
Date:
October 20, 2006
Public Information
Federal Law allows a
school to identify certain information as “directory information” that may be
publicly released without permission of parents or guardians. I would like to
bring you up to date on Spokane Schools’ decision regarding requests to
withhold a student’s directory information from school publications, sports team
rosters, military
recruiters, etc. To help you make a more informed decision I am providing some
additional information.
What is directory
information?
Spokane
Public Schools Policy 3400 defines directory information as: name, address,
listed
telephone number(s), date of birth, major field of study, photograph or
video/audio tape, participation of officially recognized activities and/or
sports, weight/height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, awards
received, most previous school attended, or other similar information that would
not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.
Who gets the
information?
It is important for you
to know that Spokane Schools do not deliberately give directory information to
solicitors who want the information for commercial purposes. Directory
information may be given to school publications (e.g. LC Yearbook), parents (e.g. parent directories), the media (e.g.
AP scholars), colleges and universities (e.g. scholarship information), military
(e.g. for recruitment).
As a parent you
have options:
Option 1: DO NOT withhold any directory information from
other agencies such as parents, media, colleges/universities,
etc.
Option 2:
WITHHOLD directory information from class rosters, honor rolls,
yearbook, art performances, graduation announcements, etc.
Option 3:
WITHHOLD directory information from the military ONLY. The
deadline for choosing this option is November 30, 2006.
How do I do this?:
We will
be sending out the Enrollment Verification forms that allow you
to update your child's contact and health information in our
computer system. On the bottom of this form is a place to check
for Option 1, 2, or 3. This is the most efficient way to select
your option. If there is an (*) next to one of the Options, it
indicates what you selected last year.
Keeping you informed,
Jon Swett
Principal