UT Tyler University Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs or activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies pertaining to hiring: Gracy Buentello, Human Resources, 3900 University Blvd. Tyler Texas 75799, (903)566-7234, humanresources@uttyler.edu.  For inquiries about student-related nondiscrimination policies, please contact the campus director.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA, permits the district to disclose appropriately designated “directory information” from a child’s education records without written consent. “Directory information” is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released. This “directory information” will be released to anyone who follows procedures for requesting it. However, a parent or eligible student may object to the release of a student’s directory information. This objection must be made in writing to the campus Director within ten school days of your child’s first day of instruction for this school year. [See the “Notice Regarding Directory Information and Parent’s Response Regarding Release of Student Information” included in the Student Handbook.] The district has identified the following as directory information: 

• Student’s name
• Address
• Telephone listing
• E-mail address
• Photograph
• Date and place of birth
• Major field of study
• Degrees, honors, and awards received
• Dates of attendance
• Grade level
• Most recent school previously attended
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Weight and height, if a member of an athletic team
• Enrollment status
• Student identification numbers or identifiers that cannot be used alone to gain access to electronic education records

If you object to the release of the student information included on the directory information response form, your decision will also apply to the use of that information for school-sponsored purposes, such as the honor roll, school newspaper, the yearbook, recognition activities, news releases, and athletic programs. 

A federal law, known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, affords parents and eligible students certain rights with respect to the student’s educational records. For purposes of student records, an “eligible” student is one who is 18 or older, or who is attending an instruction of postsecondary education. These rights are:

• The right to inspect and review student records within 45 days after the day the school receives a request for access.
• The right to request an amendment to a student record the parent or eligible student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of FERPA.
• The right to provide written consent before the school discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning failures by the school to comply with FERPA requirements. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA are: Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202-5901

Both FERPA and state laws safeguard student records from unauthorized inspection or use and provide parents and eligible students certain rights of privacy. Before disclosing any personally identifiable information from a student’s records, the district must verify the identity of the person, including a parent or the student, requesting the information.

Virtually all information pertaining to student performance, including grades, test results, and disciplinary records, is considered confidential educational records.

• Inspection and release of student records is primarily restricted to an eligible student or a student’s parents—whether married, separated, or divorced—unless the school is given a copy of a court order terminating parental rights or the right to access a student’s education records.

Federal law requires that, as soon as a student becomes 18, is emancipated by a court, or enrolls in a postsecondary institution, control of the records goes to the student. The parents may continue to have access to the records, however, if the student is a dependent for tax purposes and under limited circumstances when there is a threat to the health and safety of the student or other individuals.

FERPA permits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from a student’s education records, without written consent of the parent or eligible student, in the following circumstances:

• When district school officials have what federal law refers to as a “legitimate educational interest” in a student’s records.
  School officials would include board members and employees, such as the Superintendent, administrators, and campus Directors; teachers, district counselors, diagnosticians, and support staff (including district health or district medical staff); a person or company with whom the district has contracted or allowed to provide a particular institutional service or function (such as an attorney, consultant, third-party vendor that offers online programs or software, auditor, medical consultant, therapist, school resource officer, or volunteer); a parent or student serving on a school committee; or a parent or student assisting a school official in the performance of his or her duties. “Legitimate educational interest” in a student’s records includes working with the student; considering disciplinary or academic actions, the student’s case, or an individualized education program for a student with disabilities; compiling statistical data; reviewing an educational record to fulfill the official’s professional responsibility to the school and the student; or investigating or evaluating programs.
• To authorized representatives of various governmental agencies, including juvenile service providers, the U.S. Comptroller General’s office, the U.S. Attorney General’s office, the U.S. Secretary of Education, TEA, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture’s office, and Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers or other child welfare representatives, in certain cases.
• To individuals or entities granted access in response to a subpoena or court order.
• To another school, school district/system, or institution of postsecondary education to which a student seeks or intends to enroll or in which he or she is already enrolled.
  In connection with financial aid for which a student has applied or which the student has received.
• To accrediting organizations to carry out accrediting functions.
• To organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, the school, in order to develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; administer student aid programs; or improve instruction.
• To appropriate officials in conjunction with a health or safety emergency.
• When the district discloses information, it has designated as directory information for opportunities to prohibit this disclosure.

Release of personally identifiable information to any other person or agency—such as a prospective employer or for a scholarship application—will occur only with parental or student permission as appropriate.

The Campus Director is custodian of all records for currently enrolled students at the assigned school. The Campus Director is the custodian of all records for students who have withdrawn or graduated.

A parent or eligible student who wishes to inspect the student’s records should submit a written request to the records custodian identifying the records he or she wishes to inspect. Records may be inspected by a parent or eligible student during regular school hours. The records custodian or designee will respond to reasonable requests for explanation and interpretation of the records.

A parent or eligible student who provides a written request and pays copying costs of ten cents per page may obtain copies. If circumstances prevent inspection during regular school hours and the student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, the district will either provide a copy of the records requested or make other arrangements for the parent or student to review these records.

The address of the Superintendent’s office is:

• 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, Texas 75799.
• Attention: University Academy Superintendent.

The addresses of the Campus Directors’ offices are:

• Tyler Campus: 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, Texas 75799
• Longview Campus: 3201 N. Eastman Rd., Longview, Texas 75705
• Palestine Campus: 100 University Blvd., Palestine, Texas 75801

A parent (or eligible student) may inspect the student’s records and request a correction or amendment if the records are considered inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights. A request to correct a student’s record should be submitted to the appropriate records custodian. The request must clearly identify the part of the record that should be corrected and include an explanation of how the information in the record is inaccurate. If the district denies the request to amend the records, the parent or eligible student has the right to request a hearing. If the records are not amended as a result of the hearing, the parent or eligible student has 30 school days to exercise the right to place a statement commenting on the information in the student’s record.

Although improperly recorded grades may be challenged, contesting a student’s grade in a course or on an examination is handled through the general complaint process found in policy PG- 3.509 Student and Parent Complaints and Grievances. A grade issued by a classroom teacher can be changed only if, as determined by the board of trustees, the grade is arbitrary, erroneous, or inconsistent with the district’s grading policy.

The district’s policy regarding student records is available from the campus Director’s or Superintendent’s office or on the district’s Web site at www.uttua.org. The parent’s or eligible student’s right of access to and copies of student records do not extend to all records. Materials that are not considered educational records—such as a teacher’s personal notes about a student that are shared only with a substitute teacher—do not have to be made available to the parents or student.