From: Gene ____________ 22 W. Bryan St., # 353 Savannah, (31401) Republic of Georgia North America To: Family Policy Compliance Office U. S. Department of Education Washington, DC 20202-4605. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To: Mickie Roby, Principal Lee Roy Myers Middle School 2316 Brevard Circle Savannah, Georgia 31404 To: Dr. Gloria Benjamin, Associate Superintendent Middle/High Schools 912-201-5871 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To: Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools BOARD MEMBERS 208 Bull Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 BOARD MEMBERS Ms. Diane M. Cantor President 912-201-7606 fax 912-201-7609 Mrs. Susan J. Cox, District 1 Dr. Otis S. Johnson, District 2 Mr. DeWayne Hamilton, District 3 Mr. William R. Knight, III, Vice-President, District 4 Ms. Janie E. Fowles, District 5 Mrs. Lori L. Brady, Vice President, Pro Tempore, District 6 Mr. David A. Wegmann, District 7 Mrs. Jessie Collier DeLoach, District 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copies to: Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools STEERING TEAM MEMBERS 208 Bull Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 Dr. Geri Smith Deputy Superintendent School Management/Leadership 912-201-5582 (912) 651-7515 fax 912-201-7562 208 Bull Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 Ms. Dottie Overstreet (Interim) Deputy Superintendent Instruction 912-201-5544 normal 912-201-5582 interim 912-201-7562 fax 208 Bull Street, Room 201 Savannah, Georgia 31401 Beverly Oliver Associate Superintendent Elementary Schools Associate Superintendent for Quality Leadership 912-201-5530 (912) 651-7015, FAX (912) 651-7556 Virginia Edwards Superintendent 912-201-5585 (912) 651-7000 FAX (912) 651-7554 (System) or 651-7665 (Supt.) Dr. Gloria Benjamin Associate Superintendent Middle/High Schools 912-201-5871 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copies to: Chatham County Schools 208 Bull Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 Ms. Pamela Stevenson Interim Deputy Superintendent, Instruction (912) 651-7011, FAX (912) 651-7556 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copies to: Governor Roy E. Barnes State Capitol Building Constituent Services Room 111 Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Phone: 404-656-1776 Fax: 404-657-7332 Georgia Office of Education Accountability oea@gpb.org 101 Marietta St. N.W., Suite 2500 Atlanta, GA 30303 (404) 463-1150 Fax (404) 463-1196 State Superintendent of Schools Mrs. Linda C. Schrenko Georgia Department of Education 2066 Twin Towers East Atlanta, Georgia 30334-5001 (404) 656-2800 state.superintendent@doe.k12.ga.us Georgia Department of Education State.Board@doe.k12.ga.us 800-311-3627 404-656-2800 205 Butler Street Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Georgia Department of Education 2054 Twin Towers East, Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Tel. (404) 656-4689 · Fax (404) 657-8376 E-mail: legal.services@doe.k12.ga.us Savannah News Press c/o News Room 111 W. Bay St Savannah, Georgia 31401 WGSA TV 34 News Room 117 Oglethorpe Professional Court Savannah, Georgia WJCL TV / WTGS TV News Room 10001 Abercorn St Savannah, Georgia WTOC TV News Room P.O. Box 8086 Savannah, Georgia 31412 WSAV TV News Room 1430 E. Victory Dr. Savannah, Georgia ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COMPLAINT UNDER THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA) January 26, 2001 TO: Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue. S.W. Washington, D.C. 20202-4605 RE: School In Violation Of FERPA I hereby lodge an official complaint against Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools on behalf of ____________________ who attends Lee Roy Myers Middle School, 2316 Brevard Circle, Savannah, Georgia 31404 for what I believe to be: [X] Inappropriate maintenance of records/content [X] A violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The nature of the complaint is as checked: [X] Challenge to Record or Content __X__ Inaccurate __X__ Misleading __X__ Incomplete __X__ Inappropriate Record challenged may be identified as: Title: ‘The card' or ‘registration card', plus _______________'s school records. ___________ (and other Myer's school children) is being punished without due process of law. They are being given detention and Saturday School for being children that do talk to one another occasionally without disrupting class and they are being punished without a proper hearing for the parents to attend and verify all the facts of the matter prior to their children being unnecessarily punished with Saturday School and after school detention. Date: September 28, 2000, September 30, 2000, October 2, 2000, October 30, 2000, November 1, 2000, November 2, 2000 and subsequent dates as detailed in the complaint. Person responsible for Entry or person currently maintaining record: Clerical person under Principal Mickie Roby's supervision Date challenged content discovered: September 30, 2000 and October 2, 2000 [X ] Alleged Violations of Act or Regulations __X__ Failure to provide notification of all rights (totally or in needed language) ____ Failure to publish local access and hearing procedures __X__ Inappropriate person(s) denied access ____ Failure to provide interpretation assistance as requested __X__ Failure to provide requested hearing __X__ Failure to provide uninvolved hearing officer __X__ Failure of hearing officer to provide written opinion within reasonable time ____ Inappropriate sharing of confidential information __X__ Other: See Attached Date of Violation: September 28, 2000, September 30, 2000, October 2, 2000, October 30, 2000, November 1, 2000, November 2, 2000 through the present time. Date Violation Discovered if different from above: the same. Other Relevant Information: (Use this section to add any additional explanatory comments) Please see my attached: Complaint against Mickie Roby, Principal; Dr. Gloria Benjamin, Associate Superintendent; and Various Teachers and Administrators of; Lee Roy Myers Middle School 2316 Brevard Circle Savannah, Georgia 31404 and Request for Investigation of Lee Roy Myers Middle School and entire Savannah-Chatham County Public School System A father's Right to have access to their child's school records IS THE LAW. Natural parents retain Rights that some school system administrators argue that ‘non-custodial parents' do not have. Also, fathers are sometimes labeled wrongly by school systems as being ‘non-custodial' simply at the word of the child's mother. There are instances where the child's mother does not completely reveal the complete facts of the case. To rely on such ‘facts' without proof is to rely on error, wrongly denying the child and the father their God-given Rights of free association. In any event, even ‘non-custodial parents' retain Rights that must be recognized and respected by even the most stubborn socialist school administrators. For schools that receive federal funds, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 sets out requirements designed to protect the privacy of parents and students. Any school or school system that does not recognize these rights will not qualify to receive federal funds. These rights are spelled out in Title 20, Section 1232g of the U.S. Code. The law requires a school district to : 1.provide a parent access to records directly related to the student, 2.provide a parent an opportunity to correct records believed to inaccurate or misleading, 3.with some exceptions (generally for research), the school must obtain written permission from a parent before disclosing information contained in a student's education record. The definition of "parent" is found in FERPA implementing regulation under 34 CFR 99.3. CFR is Code of Federal Regulations. "Parent" means a parent of a student and includes a natural parent, a guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a parent or a guardian. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1232g). The definition of parent includes both custodial and non-custodial parents. This is seen in the rights of parents under this code section as defined under 34 CFR 99.4: Section 99.4: What are the rights of parents? An educational agency or institution shall give full rights under the Act to either parent, unless the agency or institution has been provided with evidence that there is a court order, State statute, or legally binding document relating to such matters as divorce, separation, or custody that specifically revokes these rights. [emphasis added] (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1232g). The meaning and intent of this Statute is pretty clear. Note the words "either" and specifically". The provisions in FERPA apply to ALL schools that receive Federal funding of any kind. This means schools receiving federal funds must provide equal access to both natural parents, custodial and non-custodial, unless there is a legally binding document--such as a court order—that specifically removes these rights and the school has been provided with such documents. Existence of custody, parenting time, or visitation arrangements do NOT by themselves, affect FERPA rights of a child's parents. One of your school's qualifications for receiving federal funds is dependent upon compliance with 20 U.S.C. 1232g (FERPA) to receive federal funds. The key part of FERPA is as follows: (1)(A) No funds shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational agency or institution which has a policy of denying, or which effectively prevents, the parents of students who are or have been in attendance at a school of such agency or at such institution, as the case may be, the right to inspect and review the education records of their children. For more information, on how your policy of denying fathers their Rights, is in violation of FERPA, contact the Family Policy Compliance Office of the Department of Education at: U.S. Dept of Education Family Policy Compliance Office 600 Independence Ave. Wash. DC. 20202 (202) 260-3887 Georgia Law Federal law is enforced through federal funding incentives. However, Georgia law provides these rights directly and apply to any local school system whether public or independent. Essentially these same rights are guaranteed under Georgia statute, Official Code of Georgia, Section 20-2-720. Custodial and non-custodial parents both are given these rights unless specifically removed by court order. Georgia Code 20-2-720. No local school system, whether county, independent, or area, shall have a policy of denying, or which effectively prevents, the parents of students who are in attendance at or who have been enrolled in any facility within such system the right to inspect and review the education records of their children. A parent shall be entitled to inspect and review only information relating to his or her own child and if any material or document in a child's record includes information on another student, such information regarding any other student shall not be made available for inspection or review except to the parents of that student. Both parents of a child shall be entitled to inspect and review the educational records of their child or to be provided information concerning their child's progress. Information concerning a child's education record shall not be withheld from the noncustodial parent unless a court order has specifically removed the right of the noncustodial parent to such information or unless parental rights have been terminated. Georgia Code states that "parent and community support is critical to the success of students and schools." Georgia Code 20-2-85. (a) The General Assembly recognizes the need to improve communication and participation of parents and the community in the management and operation of local schools. The General Assembly believes that parent and community support is critical to the success of students and schools. The intent of this article is to bring communities and schools closer together in a spirit of cooperation to solve difficult education problems, improve academic achievement, provide support for teachers and administrators, and bring parents into the school-based decision-making process. The establishment of school councils is intended to help local boards of education develop and nurture participation, bring parents and the community together with teachers and school administrators to create a better understanding of and mutual respect for each other's concerns, and share ideas for school improvement. School councils shall be reflective of the school community. (b) The management and control of public schools shall be the responsibility of local boards of education, and the school leader shall be the principal. School councils shall provide advice, recommendations, and assistance and represent the community of parents and businesses. Each member of the council, as a community representative, shall be accorded the respect and attention deserving of such election. [emphasis added] Fathers Have Rights To More Than Just A Report Card Without a court order specifically stating otherwise, natural fathers have the same rights to the same educational records and the same rights to meet with school teachers, principals and administrators as the custodial parent. This means the non-custodial parent has equal access to all school records, including: report cards enrollment forms achievement tests progress reports field trip forms incident reports disciplinary reports medical records emergency notification cards any other officially generated reports, including email This is your notice that, as _____________'s natural father, I want any type of progress report, evaluation, or notice of disciplinary action sent to me automatically as it is sent to ____________'s natural mother. Your school's qualification for federal funds is dependent upon compliance with 20 U.S.C. 1232g--among others--to continue to receive federal funds. Additionally, if my child's mother has arranged medical treatment to be provided to my child at school and has provided necessary records to the school, I, as _________'s natural father have a right of access to those records. Additionally I have a right to check my child's permanent records for any false information that may have been submitted to the school by the custodial parent regarding the appropriateness of my involvement at my child's school. Sincerely, Gene ___________ 22 W. Bryan St., # 353 Savannah, (31401) Republic of Georgia North America Phone: 912-412-0425