What is the law regarding a school keeping updated emergency contact information?
Full Question:
Answer:
You may wish to consult with the local school district to determine if there are any local laws that apply to the release of students and/or the updating of contact information.
§ 26.002 EDUC. Definition
In this chapter, "parent" includes a person standing in parental
relation. The term does not include a person as to whom the parent-child
relationship has been terminated or a person not entitled to possession
of or access to a child under a court order. Except as provided by
federal law, all rights of a parent under Title 2 of this code and all
educational rights under Section 151.003 (a)(10), Family Code, shall
be exercised by a student who is 18 years of age or older or whose
disabilities of minority have been removed for general purposes under
Chapter 31, Family Code, unless the student has been determined to be
incompetent or the student's rights have been otherwise restricted by a
court order.
§ 26.010 EDUC. Exemption From Instruction
(a) A parent is entitled to remove the parent's child temporarily from
a class or other school activity that conflicts with the parent's
religious or moral beliefs if the parent presents or delivers to the
teacher of the parent's child a written statement authorizing the removal
of the child from the class or other school activity. A parent is not
entitled to remove the parent's child from a class or other school
activity to avoid a test or to prevent the child from taking a subject
for an entire semester.
(b) This section does not exempt a child from satisfying grade level or
graduation requirements in a manner acceptable to the school district and
the agency.
§ 26.011 EDUC. Complaints
The board of trustees of each school district shall adopt a grievance
procedure under which the board shall address each complaint that the
board receives concerning violation of a right guaranteed by this
chapter.
§ 26.013 EDUC. Student Directory Information
(a) A school district shall provide to the parent of each district
student at the beginning of each school year or on enrollment of the
student after the beginning of a school year:
(1) a written explanation of the provisions of the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), regarding the
release of directory information about the student; and
(2) written notice of the right of the parent to object to the release
of directory information about the student under the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 ((20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
(b) The notice required by Subsection (a)(2) must contain:
(1) the following statement in boldface type that is 14-point or
larger:
"Certain information about district students is considered directory
information and will be released to anyone who follows the procedures for
requesting the information unless the parent or guardian objects to the
release of the directory information about the student. If you do not
want [insert name of school district] to disclose directory information
from your child's education records without your prior written consent,
you must notify the district in writing by [insert date]. [Insert name of
school district] has designated the following information as directory
information: [Here a school district must include any directory
information it chooses to designate as directory information for the
district, such as a student's name, address, telephone listing,
electronic mail address, photograph, degrees, honors and awards
received, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of
attendance, grade level, most recent educational institution attended,
and participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and the
weight and height of members of athletic teams.]";
(2) a form, such as a check-off list or similar mechanism, that:
(A) immediately follows, on the same page or the next page, the
statement required under Subdivision (1); and
(B) allows a parent to record:
(i) the parent's objection to the release of all directory information
or one or more specific categories of directory information if district
policy permits the parent to object to one or more specific categories of
directory information;
(ii) the parent's objection to the release of a secondary student's
name, address, and telephone number to a military recruiter or
institution of higher education; and
(iii) the parent's consent to the release of one or more specific
categories of directory information for a limited school-sponsored
purpose if such purpose has been designated by the district and is
specifically identified, such as for a student directory, student
yearbook, or district publication; and
(3) a statement that federal law requires districts receiving
assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.) to provide a military recruiter or an
institution of higher education, on request, with the name, address, and
telephone number of a secondary student unless the parent has advised the
district that the parent does not want the student's information
disclosed without the parent's prior written consent.
(c) A school district may designate as directory information any or all
information defined as directory information by the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g). Directory
information under that Act that is not designated by a district as
directory information for that district is excepted from disclosure by
the district under Chapter 552, Government Code.
(d) Directory information consented to by a parent for use only for a
limited school-sponsored purpose, such as for a student directory,
student yearbook, or school district publication, if any such purpose has
been designated by the district, remains otherwise confidential and may
not be released under Chapter 552, Government Code.
§ 37.105 EDUC. Unauthorized Persons: Refusal of Entry, Ejection,
Identification
The board of trustees of a school district or its authorized
representative may refuse to allow a person without legitimate business
to enter on property under the board's control and may eject any
undesirable person from the property on the person's refusal to leave
peaceably on request. Identification may be required of any person on the
property.
§ 37.107 EDUC. Trespass on School Grounds
An unauthorized person who trespasses on the grounds of any school
district of this state commits an offense. An offense under this
section is a Class C misdemeanor.
§ 37.124 EDUC. Disruption of Classes
(a) A person commits an offense if the person, on school property or on
public property within 500 feet of school property, alone or in concert
with others, intentionally disrupts the conduct of classes or other
school activities.(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(c) In this section:
(1) "Disrupting the conduct of classes or other school activities"
includes:
(A) emitting noise of an intensity that prevents or hinders
classroom instruction;
(B) enticing or attempting to entice a student away from a class or
other school activity that the student is required to attend;
(C) preventing or attempting to prevent a student from attending a
class or other school activity that the student is required to attend;
and
(D) entering a classroom without the consent of either the
principal or the teacher and, through either acts of misconduct or the use
of loud or profane language, disrupting class activities.
(2) "Public property" includes a street, highway, alley, public
park, or sidewalk.
(3) "School property" includes a public school campus or school
grounds on which a public school is located and any grounds or buildings
used by a school for an assembly or other school-sponsored activity.
§ 37.126 EDUC. Disruption of Transportation
(a) Except as provided by Section 37.125, a person commits an
offense if the person intentionally disrupts, prevents, or interferes
with the lawful transportation of children to or from school or an
activity sponsored by a school on a vehicle owned or operated by a county
or independent school district.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
§ 38.022 EDUC. School Visitors
(a) A school district may require a person who enters a district campus
to display the person's driver's license or another form of
identification containing the person's photograph issued by a
governmental entity.
(b) A school district may establish an electronic database for the
purpose of storing information concerning visitors to district campuses.
Information stored in the electronic database may be used only for the
purpose of school district security and may not be sold or otherwise
disseminated to a third party for any purpose.
(c) A school district may verify whether a visitor to a district
campus is a sex offender registered with the computerized central
database maintained by the Department of Public Safety as provided by
Article 62.005, Code of Criminal Procedure, or any other database
accessible by the district.
(d) The board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a policy
regarding the action to be taken by the administration of a school
campus when a visitor is identified as a sex offender.