What policies must a local education agency (LEA) develop under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)?

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) requires that local education agencies (LEAs), in consultation with parents, develop the following local policies concerning student privacy, parents access to information, and administration of certain physical examinations to minors:

• The right of a parent of a student to inspect, upon the request of the parent, a survey created by a third party before the survey is administered or distributed by a school to a student, and any applicable procedures for granting a request by a parent for reasonable access to the survey within a reasonable period of time after the requires is received;
• Arrangements to protect student privacy that are provided by the LEA in the event of the administration or distribution of a survey to a student containing one or more of the eight protected areas of information;
• The right of a parent or student to inspect, upon the request of the parent, any instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum for the student, and any applicable procedures for granting a request by a parent for reasonable access to instructional material within a reasonable period of time after the request is received;
• The administration of physical examinations or screenings that the school or LEA may administer to a student;
• The collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or for selling that information, or otherwise providing that information to others for that purpose, including arrangements to protect student privacy that are provided by the LEA in the event of such collection, disclosure, or use;
• The right of a parent of a student to inspect, upon request, any instrument used in the collection of personal information (a student or parent’s first and last name, a home or other physical address, a telephone number, or a Social Security identification number) before the instrument is administered or distributed to a student, and any applicable procedures for granting a request by a parent for reasonable access to such instrument within a reasonable period of time after the request is received.

A model PPRA general notification for use by LEAs may also be obtained on SPPO’s website at: Model Notification of Rights Under PPRA