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Annual Notices

Every Student Succeeds Act
The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), requires state education agencies, school districts, and individual schools to provide numerous notices to parents, the public, and others. ESSA reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. Several ESSA provisions are summarized in the U.S. Department of Education's Transitioning to Every Student Succeeds Act Frequently Asked Questions (January 2017), which also have information about ESSA notice requirements that differ from those under No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
 
ESSA requires that states and school districts engage families and parents in the work of ensuring positive outcomes for all students. School districts that receive Title 1 funds must have written family and parent engagement policies with expectations and objectives for implementing meaningful family and parent involvement strategies. They are required to involve family members and parents in developing district plans and to provide technical assistance to schools on planning and implementing effective family and parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance. ESSA requires all school districts that receive Title 1 funds to implement outreach to parents of English learners and hold regular meetings for those parents. See the U.S. Department of Education's Policy Statement on Family Engagement for more information. Also, see the Department's guidance on ESSA Assessments und Title 1, Part A and Title 1, Part B: Summary of Final Regulations and chart, which compares drafted guidance with relevant prior guidance on Title 1.
 
Under ESSA, SEAs and LEAs that receive Title 1 funds must publish state and local report cards on their websites that are concise and in an accessible format. ESSA makes Title 1 funds accessible to private schools and the Department of Education has provided non-regulatory guidance on this topic. See the non-regulatory guidance here: Title 1, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as Amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act: Providing Equitable Services to Eligible Private School Children, Teachers, and Families (October 7, 2019). 
 
The supplement non supplant requirement under Title 1 changed under ESSA, but the U.S. Department of Education has not issued draft regulations. Instead, in 2019 the Department provided Title 1, Part A Supplement Not Supplant Non-Regulatory informational document along with a summary response to comments on the informational document.
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Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act
Pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), school districts must provide parents/guardians and eligible students (at least 18 years of age) with annual notice of their rights to inspect and review educational records, amend education records, consent to disclose personally identifiable information in education records, and file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education. 34 C.F.R. § 99.7(a)(2).  The notice must include the procedure to request and review education records, as well as a statement that records may be disclosed to school officials without prior written consent. This statement should define a school official and what constitutes a legitimate educational interest providing the basis for accessing a student's educational records. 34 C.F.R. § 99.7(a)(3). Notice may be provided in any way that is reasonably likely to inform parents of their rights and must effectively notify parents who have a primary or home language other than English and parents/guardians or eligible students who are disabled. 34 C.F.R. § 99.7(b). The annual notification may be published by various means, including any of the following: in a schedule of classes; in a student handbook; in a calendar of school events; on the school's website (though this should not be the exclusive means of notification); in the student newspaper; and/or posted in a central location at the school or various locations throughout the school. See the Department of Education's Protecting Student Privacy FERPA General Guidance for Students (April 2020) for information about FERPA. For an additional resource also see the FERPA Model Notification of Rights for Elementary & Secondary Schools (April 2020).
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Under FERPA, school districts may disclose directory information if they have given public notice to parents/guardians and eligible students of what information has been designated as directory information, and when and how parents/guardians and eligible students may opt out of allowing the district to disclose their directory information.  34 C.F.R. § 99.37(a). 
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FERPA regulations permit LEAs and schools to adopt limited directory information policies that allow the disclosure of directory information to specific parties, for specific purposes, or both. 34 C.F.R. § 99.37(d). It is up to individual LEAs and schools to decide whether to adopt limited directory information policies and how to implement them. 
 
The regulations' directory information exception makes clear that parents/guardians and eligible students may not, by opting out of the disclosure of directory information, prevent an LEA or school from requiring a student to wear or present a student ID or badge. 34 C.F.R. § 99.37(c). While the department Department does not require LEAs or schools to establish policies mandating that students wear badges, these are individual decisions that LEAs and schools should make, considering local circumstances.
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The U.S. Department of Education recommends that districts post all FERPA and PPRA (see below) notices, including the directory information policy, on their websites. For more information, see the U.S. Department of Education's Privacy Technical Assistance Center's Transparency Best Practices for Schools and Districts (p. 5). The Department provides additional guidance on FERPA at https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/, including:
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Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment
The Protection of Pupils Rights Amendment (PPRA) requires school districts to adopt several policies regarding surveys of students, instructional materials, physical materials, physical examinations, personal information used for marketing, and the like. Parents must be notified of these policies at least annually at the beginning of the school year and within a reasonable time after any substantial change to the policies. 20 U.S.C. § 1232h(c)(2)(c). The Departments of Education's Protecting Student Privacy website provides PPRA General Guidance (November 2020), a PPRA Model General Notice of Rights and a PPRA Model Notice and Consent/Opt-Out for Specific Activities.
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If a district plans to (1) use students' personal information for selling or marking purposes; (2) administer any survey about any of the eight topics listed in the statute (political beliefs, income, sex behavior or attitudes, etc.; or (3) administer certain non-emergency, invasive physical examinations, the district must directly notify parents, at least annually at the beginning of the school year, of the specific or approximate dates when these activities are scheduled, or expected to be scheduled. 20 U.S.C. § 1232h(c)(2)(b),(c)(2)(C).
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The Protecting Student Privacy website lists policies that PPRA requires LEAs to develop, with the consultation of parents. These policies concern privacy, parental access to information, and administration of physical examinations of minors.
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The Department of Education's Protecting Student Privacy provides all FERPA and PPRA model notices at: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/annual-notices.
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Children Nutrition Programs
If school districts participate in the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, or the Special Milk Program, they must provide both parents and the public with information about free and reduced-priced meals and/or free milk near the beginning of each school year. 7 C.F.R. § 245.5(a)(1). Districts also must provide parents with an application form. Districts may not disclose children's free and reduced eligibility status, unless the requestor of such information falls into one of the categories specified in the National School Lunch Act. 42 U.S.C. § 1758(b)(6)(A)(i)-(v).
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Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, the Age Discrimination Act, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act
Several Federal statutes protect the rights of beneficiaries not to be discriminated against in programs or activities receiving federal and/or state financial assistance. Specifically, the following statutes prohibit discrimination: Title VI, 34 C.F.R. § 100.6 (d) (race, color, ethnicity, and national origin); Title IX, 34 C.F.R. § 106.1(sex and pregnancy); Section 504, 34 C.F.R. § 104.8 and Title II, 28 C.F.R. § 35.106 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (disability); and the Age Discrimination Act, 34 C.F.R. § 110.25 (age). The Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, 34 C.F.R. § 108.6 requires public schools to provide equal access to the use of school property to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.
 
The regulations implementing the above statutes require school districts to notify students, parents, and others that they do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, disability, or age, and that they provide equal access to Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The regulations contain minor differences related to the required content of the notices and the methods used to publish them.
 
The U.S. Department of Education's Notice of Non-Discrimination describes the content requirements of notices under these statutes, including the methods of notification required by Title IX and Section 504, and contains a sample notice of non-discrimination school districts may use to meet the requirements of the above statutes. NOTE: The notice must include the name or title and contact information of the coordinators designated to handle complaints under Title IX (34 C.F.R. § 106.1), Section 504 (34 C.F.R. § 104.8), the Americans with Disabilities Act (28 C.F.R. § 35.107), and the Age Discrimination Age (34 C.F.R. § 110.25).
 
Pursuant to the 2020 Title IX Regulations, instead of notifying only students and employees of the Title IX Coordinators' contact information, schools must also notify applicants for admission and employment, parents or legal guardians of elementary and secondary school students, and all unions of the name or title, office address, email address, and telephone number of the Title IX Coordinator. Additionally, schools must prominently display the required contact information for the Title IX Coordinator on their websites. On July 12, 2022, the Department of Education released proposed amendments to its Title IX regulations. The proposed amendments establish requirements for schools to conduct an impartial investigation for all sex discrimination complaints and how complaints should be handled. Additionally, the amendments state all schools that receive federal funding must clearly and effectively communicate their non-discrimination policies to all students, employees, and other participants in their education programs or activities.  
 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), a school district must give parents of a child with a disability a copy of its procedural safeguards one time per year, and upon initial referral or parental request for an evaluation, the filing of a first request for a due process hearing, a disciplinary action constituting a change in placement, and at the request of a parent. 20 U.S.C. § 1415 (d)(1)(a); 34 C.F.R § 300.504 (a). The notice must fully explain the IDEA's procedural safeguards in an easily understandable manner, and in the native language of the parents unless it is clearly not feasible to do so. 20 U.S.C § 1415(d)(2); 34 C.F.R. § 300.504(c),(d). Parents may choose to receive the procedural safeguards and other notices under IDEA by email, if the LEA makes this option available. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(n); 34 C.F.R. § 300.505
 
The U.S. Department of Education's Model Form: Procedural Safeguards Notice provides guidance on required content of forms under the IDEA. NOTE: The procedural safeguards notice requirements in the IDEA also apply to parents of homeless children with disabilities. For more information, see Question B-2 in Questions and Answers on Special Education and Homelessness by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
 
In 2017, the U.S. Department of Education provided guidance on when and how parents must be notified before "records containing personally identifiable information are destroyed under Part B of IDEA." Specifically, it considered whether "under C.F.R. 34 § 300.642, a school district must specifically notify parents at the time the district intends to destroy [a student's] records or whether such notice must be provided at the time the records are no longer needed." 

No Use of Tobacco Products at School
The use of tobacco products on school property is prohibited. A person shall not use a tobacco product on school property, including inhaled, chewed, or placed in a person's mouth, carrying a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, or other lighted smoking device, inhaling or chewing a tobacco product, or placing a tobacco product within a person's mouth. 

SC Directory Information Opt-Out Form, MCL 380.1136(6)
Each school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or authorizing body shall...[p]resent the opt-out form [with the list of directory information disclosures and an opportunity to elect not to have directory information used] to each pupil's parent or legal guardian within the first 30 days of the school year.

Reproductive Health - Notice to Parents
The Glenn Board of Education has approved age-appropriate programs in Reproductive Health. By Michigan Law, a lesson is offered on communicable diseases, including, but not limited to, HIV/AIDS in 4th grade. A single lesson is also offered to 4th-grade girls regarding menstruation. Progressively more in-depth lessons are offered at the 5th-grade level. According to the Public Act. 165 (Section 1507 Subsections 3 and 4) revised 2004, parents have the right to review the course content and materials. Parents also have the right to have their child excused, without penalty, from any session(s). If you wish to review materials, please contact the office. Parent notification will be made prior to instruction at each grade level.

Pesticide/Herbicide Application
Glenn utilizes an integrated pest management plan. This program is designed to control insects and other pests commonly found in school buildings and associated school grounds. The intent of the program is to manage pests an an acceptable level. Non-chemical methods are used for infestations whenever possible.

Exterior spraying for ants, grubs, or other pests, in conjunction with the application of herbicides to control weeds and plant diseases, is complicated by a licensed contractor. General treatment is made depending on where pests have become a nuisance or where a chronic problem has been identified. Notices will be posted at the main entrance of the facility not less than 48 hours before the application of non-exempt pesticides. In the case of emergency treatment, notifications will be made after the application has occurred. 

Parents or guardians may review the school's IPM program records and request prior notification of applications by contacting the Superintendent/Principal's office. If this method is elected by parents or guardians, notice will be sent by mail 3 days prior to applications. In the event of emergency applications, notifications will be made after the application occurs.

Asbestos Management
It is believed that at this time, all remaining asbestos is either non-friable (flaking) or contained in such a manner that it is not a threat to the welfare and safety of our students. 40 C.F.R. § 763.84(c),(f). and 763.93(g)(2) If you are concerned about the location of asbestos in the building, the school has a management plan, and it is located in the office. If you have questions, you can contact the office at (269) 512-7970. 

For additional pesticide information, call the National Pesticide Center at 1-800-858-7378.

Notice of Right to Access & Privacy of Records
Parents and guardians of each student have certain rights regarding records kept on the student by Glenn School. These rights include:
  1. The right to examine the student's records. Requests for inspections shall follow the following procedure: Requests are to be in-person or in writing to the office staff. Review may take place during school hours unless prior arrangements have been made. The review shall take place in a location designated by office staff. Records shall not be removed.
  2. ​The right to have the administration hear evidence that any part of the record is inaccurate, misleading, or violates a student's privacy or other rights, to have the record changed, and to insert an explanation in the record if the administration disagrees.
  3. The right to have records, other than directory information, which personally refer to a student kept confidential except either by consent of the parent, or when being used by school personnel for school business. Certain official agencies may also request records. 
  4. The following categories of information as directory information such as directory information that may be public with respect to each student:
    • Name​
    • Address
    • Telephone
    • Date and place of birth
    • Awards received
    • School photographs/student portraits
    • Participation in officially recognized activities
    • The most recent previous educational agency or institution attended.

If a parent does not wish to have this information to be available for publication, notice must be given to the office.

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Any protests can be sent to:

The Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education
Washington, D.C. 20202-4905

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