Pursuant to Sebring Local School District (“District”) Board of Education Policy 6.15 – “Student Records,” the District has designated certain information contained in the education records of its students as “directory information” for purposes of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”). Under FERPA, directory information may be disclosed by the District for any lawful purpose, without the consent of a parent of a student or an adult student, unless such parent or adult student has “opted-out” of such disclosures. If a parent or an adult student “opted-out” of such disclosure, the District must first receive the consent of such parent or adult student prior to releasing the student’s directory information. Parents and adult students were provided the opportunity to opt-out of releasing directory information at the beginning of Included within the District’s definition of directory information is a “photograph.” This means that the District may release photographs of students who have not “opted-out” of directory information disclosures, without receiving the prior consent of the parents of a student or an adult student. The inclusion of “photograph” within the definition of “directory information” is a common practice among school districts, because it allows school districts to release student photographs to be published in programs, yearbooks, and local newspapers.
In recent years, it has become common for school districts to post photographs of students online. Usually, such photographs can be found on the school districts’ websites. However, many school districts are expanding their use of such photographs by posting them on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and other social media platforms. The Sebring Local School District intends to follow suit. However, because some people may not be comfortable with this new use of photographs, the District is providing all parents and adult students another opportunity to “opt-out” of having their photographs posted online by the District.
If a parent of a student or an adult student does not want the District to post student photographs online, please notify the Superintendent, in writing, at the mailing address below.
Sebring Local School District Board of Education
510 North 14th Street
Sebring, OH 44672
If, a parent of a student or an adult student does not provide notice of a refusal to allow the District to post student photographs online, the District will deem that there is no objection to the practice.