The North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District provides education to all high school students regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, or handicap as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972; and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Inquiries regarding compliance may be directed to the District’s Affirmative Action Officer, Rich Bergacs (908) 735-2846 ext 5103 or Section 504 Coordinator, Mike Squarcia. (908) 735-2846 ext 5182.
Flag Salute
FLAG SALUTE AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
New Jersey Law requires that students show respect for the flag of the United States of America. If the student is conscientiously opposed to the pledge or salute, the student may abstain from these ceremonies but is expected to stand. Make-Up Work
Any student absent from classes for any reason including suspension, will be required to make up all work missed. The school believes that the student being disciplined should be given the opportunity to main his/her academic standing. However, it is the responsibility of the student to see his/her teachers if he/she feels their help is needed to make up the work missed. Records
STUDENT RECORDS BOARD POLICY STATEMENT
A cumulative record shall be kept for each student enrolled in the schools of this District. This individual folder shall contain pertinent facts about the student, but shall not violate reasonable requirements of privacy. The folder shall be kept up to date and should move with the student through his career. These records of the individual pupil shall be used for the promotion of the welfare of a pupil, and shall not be made available to any other person or agency unless it is reasonably clear that such person or agency will use the records to the advantage of the student.
No staff member shall give information from a student’s record to anyone outside the school staff, except the student’s parents, unless he shall obtain the permission of the Superintendent or the Principal and the student or his parents. Outside agencies or individuals not approved by the student or his parents must present a legal need to know order. Such an order must state the specific information needed. The Administration may then furnish the specific information requested and no other. Parents may request in writing the exclusion of their child’s name in a school graduation list.
A. Definitions
1. “Access” means the right to view, take notes, and copy by hand or photo-reproduction.
2. “Adult pupil” means a pupil who is the subject of the record and is eighteen years of age or older, is attending an institution of postsecondary education, or is an emancipated minor. The Superintendent may determine that a minor pupil is emancipated on the pupil’s presentation of evidence indicating that he or she is financially independent.
3. “Parent or legal guardian” means the natural or adoptive parent or legal guardian, custodial or non-custodial, whose parent or legal guardian rights have not been terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction; legal guardian; foster parent or legal guardian; approved parent or legal guardian surrogate; or legal custodian of the pupil who is the subject of the record and includes only such persons for whom access is authorized at D1a. In the event parent or legal guardian rights have been terminated or limited by a court of competent jurisdiction, the pupil’s legal custodian must so notify the custodian of the pupil’s file, by submission of appropriate legal documentation, in order that improper access to the pupil’s records is not granted.
4. “Pupil record” means any information in tangible form regarding an individual pupil enrolled or formerly enrolled in this district, regardless of its subject, source, or physical form, that is maintained for the purpose of review by a person other than the originator of the record. Information recorded by a teaching staff member solely to aid memory is not a pupil record for the purpose of this regulation; at the time such information is reviewed by another person, it becomes a pupil record.
B. Authorized Content of Pupil Records. A pupil’s file may include only the following mandated and permitted records.
1. The collection of the following mandated records is authorized:
a. Personal identifying data, including name, address, date of birth, citizenship, gender, and name of parent or legal guardian; personal data cannot include the pupil’s religious or political affiliation, except as so requested by the adult pupil or parent or legal guardian, and cannot include any indication of the pupil’s illegitimacy;
b. Daily attendance records;
c. Pupil progress reports, report cards, and grade transcripts;
d. Grade level and program assignments
e. Physical health records, including data collected pursuant to Policy No. 5310. Any school records with HIV identifying information will be maintained in accordance with the standards of N.J.S.A. 26:5C; which require the following for disclosure of records.
Consent is required for the disclosure of the record of a minor who has or is suspected of having AIDS or HIV infection. Consent shall be obtained from the parent or legal guardian or other individual authorized under State law to act in the minor’s behalf.
Records may be disclosed to only the following individuals or agencies:
(1) Qualified personnel for purpose of conducting scientific research
(2) Qualified personnel for purpose of conducting management audits, financial audits or program evaluation;
(3) Qualified person in medical education or in the diagnosis and treatment of the individual involved;
(4) To the New Jersey Department of Health as required by state or federal law; and/or
(5) As permitted by the rules and regulations of the New Jersey Department of Health.
f. Records required and created in the identification, referral, evaluation, and classification of disabled pupils and the provision of special education and/or related activities pursuant to Policy No. 2460 through 2460.14; and
g. All other records required by the State Board of Education.
2. The collection of the following permitted records is authorized to promote the pupil’s educational welfare:
a. Personally authenticated observations, assessments, ratings, and anecdotal reports recorded by teaching staff members in the performance of their professional responsibilities and intended for review by another person, provided the record is dated and signed by the originator; information recorded solely as a memory aid for the originator becomes a pupil record when it is reviewed by any other person, including a substitute;
b. Information, scores, and results obtained from standardized tests or by approved tests conducted by professional personnel;
c. Educationally relevant information provided by the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil regarding the pupil’s achievements or school activities;
c. Any correspondence with the pupil and/or the pupil’s parent or legal guardian;
d. Driver education certificate;
e. Emergency notification form;
f. New pupil registration form;
g. Withdrawal or transfer form;
h. Change of schedule form;
i. Records of disciplinary infractions, penalties, and disciplinary hearings;
j. Records of the pupil’s co-curricular and athletic activities and achievements;
k. Class rank;
l. Awards and honors;
m. Notations of additional records maintained in a separate file (C2);
n. The statement of a parent or legal guardian or adult pupil regarding a contested portion of the record; and
o. Entries indicating review of the file by an authorized person (D6).
C. Collection and Maintenance of Records
1. A pupil’s records will be maintained in a single central file in the office of the school to which the pupil is assigned. The file of a pupil assigned to a program outside this district will be maintained in the office of the Child Study Team.
2. In the event any record is kept in a place other than the pupil’s central file, the central file will include a notation of the existence and location of the additional record.
3. The Principal or designee is the custodian responsible for the collection and security of pupil records in his or her school. The Principal or designee is the custodian responsible for the collection and security of pupil records maintained by the Child Study Team. The School Nurse is the custodian responsible for any physical health records and emergency notification forms maintained in the School Nurse’s office.
4. All pupil records will be securely maintained under lock and key to protect the integrity of the record and to prevent access by unauthorized persons. Secretarial and clerical personnel, including properly assigned aides, may handle and view pupil records only to the limited extent necessary to enter data, amend records, file materials, copy pages, and conduct routine clerical tasks, as specifically directed and supervised by professional personnel.
5. Any computer program utilized for the electronic storage and retrieval of pupil information must provide adequate security blocks to protect the records against improper access and alteration. An updated printout must be made of all computerized pupil records and will be maintained in strict accordance with Policy No. 8330 and these regulations.
The registration of a pupil transferring to this district must be reported to the Superintendent in order that prompt request for the pupil’s records may be made. Access to Records D. Access to pupil records.
1. The responsible custodian shall permit access to pupil records only by the following authorized persons:
a. The parent or legal guardian of
(1) A minor pupil;
(2) A financially dependent adult pupil when the parent or legal guardian has agreed not to disclose information contained in the record to a second or third party without the adult pupil’s consent;
(3) An emancipated adult pupil with the written permission of the pupil; or
(4) An adult pupil who has been declared legally incompetent.
a. A minor pupil with the written permission of his or her parent or legal guardian;
b. A pupil sixteen years of age who plans to terminate his or her education by graduation from high school or by withdrawal from school at the end of the term;
c.. An adult pupil;
d. Teaching staff members who have assigned educational responsibilities for the pupil;
e. Representatives of accrediting organizations for the purpose of determining accreditation;
f. The Commissioner of Education and members of the New Jersey Department of Education staff who have assigned responsibilities that necessitate the review of pupil records;
g. Officers and employees of a state agency responsible for protective and investigative services for pupils referred in cases of suspected child abuse;
h. Representatives and persons outside the school who have been authorized by the written consent of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil, provided that a written request for review, together with the required authorization, is first submitted to the custodian of the record and provided that the reviewer shall not transfer pupil record information to a third party without the written consent of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil;
i. Representatives and persons not otherwise authorized, upon the presentation of a court order, provided that, absent a judicial order to the contrary, the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil has been given at least three days’ written notice of the name of the requesting agency and the records requested; and
j. Bona fide researchers approved by the Superintendent after the requesting researcher has submitted a written request that sets forth the nature of the research, the relevance of the records sought, and the researcher’s assurances that pupil anonymity and confidentiality will be strictly guarded.
2. A request for inspection of pupil records submitted by an authorized person will be granted, provided any condition for access set forth in D1 has been met, as soon as is practical and no later than ten days after the request is received or any hearing or review to which the record is relevant, whichever first occurs.
3. No pupil record shall be altered or destroyed after review has been requested and before the requested review occurs. As soon as a request is received, the pupil’s file will be marked to prevent inadvertent clerical alteration. The mark will be removed when the review occurs.
4. Where access has been requested by a person other than a parent or legal guardian or pupil or teaching staff member educationally responsible for the pupil, access will generally be limited to the record or portion of the record relevant to the purpose for which access was granted.
5. The custodian of the record, or a teaching staff member appointed by the custodian, shall be present during the period of review to provide interpretation of the record as required; to prevent any alteration, damage, or loss of the record; and to limit review where such limitation is a condition of access.
6. Except for inspection by a parent or legal guardian, pupil, or teaching staff member educationally responsible for the pupil, every inspection of a pupil’s record shall be noted in an entry in the file that sets forth the name of the person or persons granted access, the reason access was granted, the time and circumstances of the inspection, the records inspected, and the purposes for which the data will be used.
7. Access to pupil records will be available only to the pupil’s parent or legal guardian, the adult pupil, appropriate school personnel acting in the educational interest of the pupil, and such others as may be permitted access by rules of the State Board of Education. Every parent, except as prohibited by federal and state law, shall have access to records and information pertaining to his or her unemancipated child, including, but not limited to, medical, dental, insurance, child care and educational records, whether or not the child resides with the parent, unless that access is found by the court to be not in the best interest of the child or the access is found by the court to be sought for the purpose of causing detriment to the other parent. The place of residence of either parent shall not appear on any records or information released pursuant to this policy.
A pupil’s parent, guardian or legal custodian may petition the court to have a parent’s access to the pupil’s records limited. If the court, after a hearing, finds that the parent’s access to the record is not in the best interest of the pupil or that the access sought is for the purpose of causing detriment to the other parent, the court may order that access to the records be limited.
8. An authorized person may request a photocopy of all or a portion of that part of the pupil’s record to which the reviewer has been granted access. Copies will be made by district personnel for a fee equal to that charged for copies of the public records of this district, except that the fee may be waived for a parent or legal guardian or adult pupil who, in the judgment of the custodian of the record, might otherwise be prevented from exercising his or her rights of access and appeal under rules governing access to pupil records and the due process rights of disabled pupils.
E. Release of Information
Information in a pupil record, other than directory information defined in H1, may be released only to the following persons and under the following conditions.
1. In order to fulfill its legal responsibilities, the Board of Education may receive information contained in a pupil’s record. Any request for such information must be made to the Superintendent by the Board duly convened. The information will be presented by the Superintendent to the Board in private session, except that the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil will be notified of the planned private discussion and, on the written request of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil, the information will be discussed in a public meeting.
2. Teaching staff members may, in their discretion, disclose information in a pupil record to the minor pupil who is the subject of the record or to appropriate persons in connection with an emergency, if such knowledge is necessary to protect the health and safety of the pupil or other persons.
3. A parent or legal guardian or adult pupil may be given information from that portion of another pupil’s record that contains information about the parent or legal guardian’s child or about the adult pupil.
4. Transfer of Records
5. When a pupil transfers to another school district in New Jersey, the custodian of the pupil’s records shall, within ten days of the receiving district’s verification of the transfer:
a. Forward the pupil’s mandated records to the receiving district with written notice of the transfer to the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil; and
b. Forward the pupil’s permitted records to the Superintendent of the receiving districts on the written consent of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil, except that permitted records may be forwarded from Bethlehem Township, Califon Borough, Town of Clinton, Clinton Township, Franklin Township, Glen Gardner Borough, Hampton Borough, High Bridge Borough, Lebanon Borough, Lebanon Township, Tewksbury Township, and Union Township without written consent.
6. When a pupil departs permanently from this school district by transfer to a private school or a school district outside New Jersey, the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil will be notified in writing that a copy of the entire pupil record will be provided on request. The record will be forwarded to the receiving school or district on the written request of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil.
7. The parent or legal guardian or adult pupil shall, on request, be provided with a copy of the records forwarded to another school district or educational institution.
8. Appeal of Record
A parent or legal guardian or adult pupil may request the expunging of allegedly inaccurate, irrelevant, or improper information; the insertion of additional data and commentary; and request a stay of disclosure, in accordance with the following appeal procedures:
1. The parent or legal guardian or adult pupil must submit a written request to the Principal that includes the specific issues and allegations relating to the pupil record and the relief sought.
2. The Principal will, within ten days of the receipt of the request, meet with the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil to review the issues and allegations raised and the relief sought.
3. If the relief sought by the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil is not granted at the review meeting, the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil will be notified of his or her right to appeal the matter to the Board of Education or the Commissioner of Education in writing within ten days of the meeting.
4. An appeal to the Board will be promptly heard in private session, unless the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil requests a public meeting, and the Board will issue a written determination within twenty days of the receipt of the written request for appeal to the Board. The Board determination will include notification of the right of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil to appeal to the Commissioner.
5. At all stages of the appeal process the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil will be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to the issue.
6. A record of the appeal proceedings and outcome will be included in the pupil’s file and copies will be made available to the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil.
7. Appeals relating to the records of disabled pupils will be processed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.9.
9. Regardless of the outcome of the appeal, the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil may place a statement in the pupil’s file commenting on the information contained in the record or specifying reasons for disagreeing with the decisions of the Board or its officers. Any such statement will be retained in the file so long as the contested portion of the file is maintained and will be disclosed whenever the contested portion is disclosed.
H. Directory Information
1. Directory information includes a pupil’s name, address, telephone number, grade level, date and place of birth, dates of attendance, major field of study, participation in district activities recognized by the Board of Education, weight and height relating to athletic team membership, degrees, awards, the educational agency most recently attended by the pupil, and other, similarly non-intrusive information.
Parent or legal guardians and adult pupils will be informed annually at the beginning of the school year of their right to prohibit the release of any or all types of directory information about the pupil and will be provided a period of ten days to submit to the Superintendent a written statement prohibiting the release of such information.
3. Except where a parent or legal guardian or adult pupil has requested that directory information about the pupil not be released, directory information may, without the consent of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil, be:
a. Released to recognized representatives of the press for use in published reports on district activities and
b. Used in district publications and records such as the newsletter, handbook, school newspaper, yearbook, graduation program, Board minutes, and administrative reports to the Board.
4. A student information directory of pupils in grade(s) 9-12 may be compiled annually for distribution to educational, occupational, and military recruiters. The directory will include each pupil’s name, address, telephone number, grade level, and other items of directory information as authorized by the Superintendent.
The student information directory will be made available to educational, occupational, and military recruiters on an equal basis, in accordance with Policy No. 9713. An adult pupil who so requests or a minor pupil whose parent or legal guardian so requests will not be listed in the student information directory for any and all recruitment purposes.
I. Review of Records
1. The records of all currently enrolled pupils will be reviewed annually by teaching staff members appointed by the custodian. Information no longer descriptive of the pupil or the pupil’s educational situation or necessary to provide educational services to the pupil will be removed and destroyed. No record will be made of the removed information or of its removal.
2. A record that is mandated (B1) may be destroyed only after:
a. The parent or legal guardian or adult pupil has been notified of the pending destruction and has consented in writing to the destruction or
b. Reasonable attempts to notify and secure the consent of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil have been unsuccessful. Attempts will be deemed unsuccessful after registered mail to the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil to the last known address is returned or after, notification having been received, the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil fails to submit written consent within ten working days of receipt of notification.
3 Removed records will be destroyed by shredding, burning or complete erasure of records stored on computer disk.
J. Retention of Records
When a pupil graduates from high school or permanently departs from the school system,
1. The parent or legal guardian or adult pupil will be notified in writing that records other than those permanently retained will be destroyed and that a copy of the pupil’s entire record will be provided on request.
Except where records are transferred to another New Jersey school district (F1), the following records will be maintained in perpetuity: the pupil’s name, date of birth, gender, address and telephone number at time of departure from this district, grades, attendance record, classes attended, grade level completed, year completed, name(s) of parent or legal guardian(s), and citizenship status.
The student profile form, with all appropriate attachments, of any pupil assessed by a special review assessment, pursuant to Policy No. 5460, will be retained for one year after the graduation of the pupil’s class.
4. All other records will be destroyed after
a. The parent or legal guardian or adult pupil has been notified of the pending destruction and has consented in writing to the destruction or
b. Reasonable attempts to notify and secure the consent of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil have been unsuccessful. Attempts will be deemed unsuccessful after registered mail to the last known address of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil is returned as undeliverable or after, notification having been received; the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil fails to submit written consent within ten working days of receipt of notification.
5. No additional information will be placed in the pupil’s file without the prior written consent of the parent or legal guardian or adult pupil.
6. The permanent records of pupils formerly enrolled in this district will be maintained in the high school office. Search of Student Property
The Board is aware that a balance must be made to weigh the constitutional rights of students (as described in the Fourth Amendment) against the need for school officials to maintain order and discipline.
The Principal and/or designees may conduct a search if he/she has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the intended search will reveal evidence that the student has violated or is violating, either the law, or the rules of the school. The scope of the search shall be reasonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in the light of the age and sex of the student and the nature of the suspected infraction.
Students are permitted to go to their lockers only during class changes.
STUDENTS ARE NOT TO SHARE THEIR HALL LOCKERS AND COMBINATIONS NUMBERS WITH OTHER STUDENTS. STUDENTS WILL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ARTICLES FOUND IN THEIR LOCKERS.
All lockers are emptied and thoroughly cleaned during the summer vacation. It is the student’s responsibility to take home all articles of value. Those articles collected by the custodial staff during the summer are given to non-profit organizations or discarded. Students may not be assigned the same lockers the following school year.
