Student Data Privacy

Hamilton Central School District is required to annually notify parents of their rights under FERPA; that information can be found in our FERPA Notification Policy. Under FERPA, the District may identify certain data elements as Directory Information, which may be disclosed without obtaining prior parental consent. Parents are provided with the opportunity to opt out of certain Directory Information disclosures by filling out the form HERE. The data identified as Directory Information by our BOCES is:

• student’s name
• address
• telephone number
• email address
• date and place of birth
• name of the student’s parents
• student’s home school district
• student’s class designation
• participation in extracurricular activities
• dates of attendance
• student’s achievement awards and honors
• most recent previous educational agency attended by the student
• photographs
• audio recordings
• video images of students (with or without sound) engaged in routine activities

Additional FERPA Form Links: Inspection of Student Records, Correction of Student Records

The Hamilton Central School District maintains an inventory of all software and services utilized within the district that collect, store or process student information. In order to make this information as easily accessible as possible to our community and comply with requirements outlined in law and regulation, we have posted our inventory and supplemental information related to the contracts for those products and services on our website. We will update the inventory periodically to reflect any changes in product or service usage.

The information can be accessed by clicking here.

The Hamilton Central School District is dedicated to the protection of student data and to maintaining data security and privacy across the district. If you believe that a breach or unauthorized disclosure of student personally identifiable information has occurred, please complete the form below and submit it in person to our Data Protection Officer, Christopher Rogers. Any parent, eligible student (students who are at least 18 years of age or attending a postsecondary institution at any age), principal, teacher or employee of an educational agency may file a complaint. A complaint can also be submitted to the New York State Chief Privacy Officer using this online form.

Education Law 2-D (click on link to download)

Provides guidance to educational agencies and their third-party contractors on ways to strengthen data privacy and security to protect student data and annual professional performance review data.

Part 121 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education (click on link to download)

The Board of Regents adopted Part 121 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education on January 13, 2020. These rules implement Education Law Section 2-D.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (click on link to download)

The foundational federal law on the privacy of students’ educational records, FERPA, safeguards student privacy by limiting who may access student records, specifying for what purpose they may access those records, and detailing what rules they have to follow when accessing the data.

Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) (click on link to download)

PPRA defines the rules states and school districts must follow when administering tools like surveys, analysis and evaluations funded by the U.S. Department of Education to students. It requires parental approval to administer many such tools and ensures that school districts have policies in place regarding how the data collected through these tools can be used.

Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) (click on link to download)

COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites, games, mobile apps or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age.