Pursuant to State and federal law, a parent has the right to the following:

1. To direct the education and care of his or her child.
2. To direct the upbringing and moral or religious training of his or her child.
3. To enroll his or her child in a public or nonpublic school and any school choice option available to the parent for which the child is otherwise eligible.
4. To access and review all education records relating to his or her child, as authorized by the Federal Educational Right and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g.
5. To make health care decisions for his or her child, unless otherwise provided by law.
6. To access and review all medical records of his or her child, as authorized by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), P.L. 104-191, as amended, except as follows:

• If an authorized investigator requests that information not be release to a parent because the parent is subject to an investigation of either (i) a crime committed against the child or (ii) an abuse and neglect complaint; or

• When otherwise prohibited by law.

7. To prohibit the creation sharing, or storage of a biometric scan of his or her child without the parent’s prior written consent, except as authorized pursuant to a court order or otherwise required by law.
8. To prohibit the creation, sharing, or storage of his or her child’s blood or DNA without the parent’s prior written consent, unless otherwise authorized by law.
9. To prohibit the creation by the State, or the school, of a video or voice recording of his or her child without the parent’s prior written consent, unless such record is made in connection with:

• A court proceeding
• An investigation into alleged neglect or abuse of the child
• A safety demonstration
• An academic or extracurricular activity
• Classroom instruction
• A photo identification card
• Security or surveillance of buildings, grounds, or school transportation

10. To be promptly notified if the school, or any employee of the school, suspects that a criminal offense has been committed against his or her child, unless doing so would impede an investigation by law enforcement or a county welfare agency.

Specific Rights Related to Child’s Education

Pursuant to G.S. 115C-76.25, a parent or legal guardian’s rights with regard to his or her child’s education include the following:

• The right to consent or withhold consent for participating in reproductive health and safety educational programs, consistent with the requirements of G.S. 115C-81.30.

• The right to seek a medical or religious exemption from immunization requirements consistent with the requirements of G.S. 130A-156 and G.S. 130A-157.

• The right to review statewide standardized assessment results as part of the State report card.

• The right to request an evaluation of their child for an academically or intellectually gifted program, or for identification as a child with a disability, as provided by State and federal law.

• The right to inspect and purchase public school unit textbooks and other supplementary instructional materials, when available.

• The right to access information relating to Global Scholars Academy’s policies for promotion or retention, including high school graduation requirements.

• The right to receive student report cards on a regular basis that clearly depict and grade the student’s academic performance in each class or course, the student’s conduct, and the student’s attendance.

• The right to access information relating to the State public education system, State standards, report card requirements, attendance requirements, and textbook requirements.

• The right to participate in any parent-teacher organizations.
• The right to be informed of, and to opt-in to, any survey of protected information under G.S. 115C-76.65.
• The right to opt into certain data collection for their child, as provided in Part 5 of
• Article 7B and Article 29 of Chapter 115C the North Carolina General Statutes.
• The right to review all available records of materials their child has borrowed from a school library.

Definitions:

• As used in these policies, “parent” shall mean a person who has legal custody of a child, including a natural parent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian.

Miscellaneous Provisions

• Nothing in these policies authorizes a parent or guardian to engage in unlawful conduct, or to abuse or neglect a child.

• Nothing in these policies shall prohibit or otherwise limit a State official, law enforcement, or a court of competent jurisdiction from acting pursuant to pursuant to legal authority granted under local, state, or federal law.

• An employee who encourages, coerces, or attempts to encourage or coerce a child to withhold information from his or her parent(s) may be subject to disciplinary action.
• A copy of this policy shall be posted on the school’s website. Ref.: G.S. 114A-10; G.S. 114A-15; G.S. 115C-76.25

[Several items in the above list of rights, which are drawn directly from the statutes, are worth noting:

• S. 114A-10 (listed in Item 10, above) grants parents the right to prohibit video recordings being made of their child unless in certain circumstances. These exceptions are broad enough to include most common uses of recordings in schools, including security surveillance footage and use in class and extracurricular activities.

Schools may consider adding a separate policy concerning the use of video and audio recordings that prohibit personnel from recording students without first obtaining parent consent unless the recording meets one of the exceptions above.

• S. 115C-76.25 grants parents the right to purchase textbooks “as provided in Article 8, Part 3, of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes,” which governs the selection and use of textbooks by LEAs. G.S. 115C-102, which is part of those statutes, requires LEAs to permit parents to purchase textbooks. Charter schools, however, are exempt from the statutes that govern LEAs purchase and use of textbooks pursuant to G.S. 115C-218.10. Accordingly, the language in this policy refers to the right to purchase textbooks “when available.”

• S. 115C-76.25 grants parents “The right to opt into certain data collection for their child, as provided in Part 5 of this Article and Article 29 of Chapter 115C the North Carolina General Statutes, which govern student records. These statutes, however, do not grant “opt-in” rights. Instead, two sections, G.S. 115C- 402.5 and 115C-402.15, provide parents the right to “opt-out” from the disclosure of “Directory Information” as provided under FERPA. The reference to “opt-in” thus appears to be a misstatement. It is not clear whether this provision was meant to alter the right rules governing directory information. Accordingly, the model policy reflects the language of the Parents’ Bill of Rights and states “opt-in,” even though parents may only have “opt-out” rights with respect to such information.

FERPA allows schools to publish directory information so long as the school provides notice to parents at the beginning of each school year that (i) directory information will be disclosed and (ii) parents may “opt-out” of the disclosure within a certain period of time. 34 CFR § 99.37(a). “Directory information” generally includes name, address, telephone numbers, date of birth, grade, dates of attendance, and participation in activities and sports.

Schools should continue to provide annual notice to parents regarding the disclosure of directory information and their right to opt-out if they choose.]