Getting information about a child
“Who do I talk to about Corey? The caseworker? The foster parent? The parents? And what authorizes me to do that?”
The information schools release is controlled by the statutes. So before you communicate with any of the adults in Corey’s life other than his parents, you need the written consent of his parents or a court order specifically authorizing the release of information from Corey’s pupil records to specified parties.
Who is responsible for getting the consent or court order?
The county agency must furnish the school with one or the other. As a general rule, county agencies seek the written consent of the parent for permission to release education information to the county agency and to the child’s caregivers (e.g., foster parents, group home staff, or relative caregiver, etc.). If the child’s parent refuses, the county agency may seek a court order to allow the disclosure of pupil records. Under any of these circumstances, the school must make a reasonable effort to notify the parent or guardian before disclosing the record.
In accordance with federal law, release forms must include:
- The name of the student whose record is being released
- The records that may be disclosed
- The purpose of the disclosure
- The party to whom the disclosure will be made
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