Dear OJR Community,

To keep the community informed about Owen J. Roberts’ policies pertaining to records retention, we want to share useful information with our families. Please know that this information does not represent a change to any district policies, but is for informational purposes only.

The District maintains a variety of documents concerning students who are identified as having or who are thought to have a disability within the meaning of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, The Rehabilitation Act of 1973- Section 504, and Gifted Education. To conserve space and avoid unnecessary storage costs, and to protect privacy, these documents are subject to destruction when the District deems them no longer relevant to the education of your child.  This correspondence will provide you with information concerning when we consider certain documents to be no longer educationally relevant.  Although the District might have documents of the sort described in this letter that pertain to your child, you should not assume that such documents exist or that they are “educational records.”

The point at which a document is no longer educationally relevant will depend on the type of document. 

The following types of documents will be considered no longer educationally relevant once read by the intended recipient, unless stored in a student file: (a) electronic communications between school staff; and (b) electronic communications sent to school staff by parents, guardians, and other third parties.  

The following types of document will be considered no longer educationally relevant at the conclusion of the school year during which such document was created: (a) raw data and test protocols used in evaluations and reevaluations; (b) raw data, test protocols, and work samples used for progress monitoring, when those data and samples are thoroughly presented in progress reports or in IEP present educational levels; and (c) all other raw data, tests and quizzes, and student work.

The following types of document will be considered no longer educationally relevant at the expiration of six years from the date on which the child is no longer receiving special education services from the District: (a) permissions to evaluate or reevaluate; (b) evaluation and reevaluation reports; (c) invitations to IEP team meetings; (d) IEPs and IEP revisions; and (e) notices of recommended educational placement or prior written notices.

If you have any questions concerning the foregoing information, please contact the Special Education Office  at 610-469-5167­­­­­­­­­­­­­.  A copy of the District student records policy, which contains important information about the maintenance, use, disclosure, amendment, and confidentiality of education records, is available here and on our website. 

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

Sincerely,

Owen J. Roberts School District