BILL HASLAM STATE OF TENNESSEE CANDICE MCQUEEN

GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION COMMISSIONER

NINTH FLOOR, ANDREW JOHNSON TOWER
710 JAMES ROBERTSON PARKWAY
NASHVILLE, TN 37243-0375

Via Electronic Mail and US Mail

August 21, 2017

Dorsey E. Hopson II, Superintendent

Shelby County Schools
160 S. Hollywood Street
Memphis, TN 38112

Dear Mr. Hopson:

This letter is to provide notice that by refusing to provide access to student contact information to Green Dot
Public Schools, Shelby County Schools (SCS) is in violation of state law, specifically Chapter 307 of the Public
Acts of 2017 (PC 307) that became effective July 1, 2017. The mission of the Tennessee Department of
Education (TDOE) and the Achievement School District (ASD) is to ensure all Tennessee students are
equipped with the knowledge and skills to successfully embark on their chosen path in life. In order to fulfill that
mission, it is critical to provide parents with all public school options available to their children. This is the only
way to enable and support parents in making truly informed decisions about their childrens education.
Currently, the Shelby County Schools (SCS) website that is designed to allow a parent to input a home address
and be provided a list of public schools their children are eligible to attend only includes public schools operated
directly by SCS. It does not include public charter schools authorized by SCS or public schools operating under
the jurisdiction of the ASD within Shelby County.

Because the SCS website does not provide all public school options to Shelby County parents, the ASD and
charters authorized by SCS have tried to assist parents by making them aware of the additional public school
options available to them in Shelby County by contacting parents. Last year, the ASD and other charter schools
authorized by Shelby County were denied access to student contact information that could have been used to
allow parents to be fully informed of all educational options available to their children. It is the position of TDOE
and the ASD that parents have a right to access all information to support them in determining which school(s)
their children attend. It is truly disappointing that SCS does not share this position. To rectify this issue and
remove any doubt that this information is to be shared, Section 20 of PC 307 added the following to T.C.A., Title
49, Chapter, 13:

To effectuate 49-13-113, within thirty (30) days of receiving a request from a chartering
authority or a public charter school approved to operate one (1) or more schools in the district,
an LEA shall provide at no cost a list of student names, ages, addresses, dates of attendance,
and grade levels completed in accordance with 10-7-504 and the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act (FERPA), compiled at 20 U.S.C. 1232g. Such information shall not be
released by the receiving entity to outside parties without prior written consent from the parent
or eligible student. Each recipient of such information shall adopt and implement a policy
allowing parents or eligible students to decline to receive further information from the charter
school.

SCS has now denied a charter schools request for student contact information under PC 307 alleging that
providing the information would be a violation of the law. The denial of the request for student contact
information is not in compliance with PC 307 for the reasons provided below.

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The contact information listed in PC 307 and requested by the charter school is information that is authorized
for release under T.C.A. 10-7-504. This law provides that information relating only to an individual students
name, age, address, dates of attendance, grade levels completed, class placement and academic degrees
awarded may be disclosed to any person without prior consent of the parent. Complying with PC 307 would not
in any way be in conflict with T.C.A. 10-7-504.

FERPA defines information contained in an education record of a student to be information that would not
generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed as directory information. FERPA
authorizes directory information to be disclosed without prior written consent of the parent as long as the
educational agency or institution has given public notice to parents of students in attendance and eligible
students in attendance at the agency or institution. The public notice to parents must:

Describe the types of personally identifiable information that the agency or institution has designated as
directory information;
Contain a parent's or eligible student's right to refuse to let the agency or institution designate any or all
of those types of information about the student as directory information; and
Include the period of time within which a parent or eligible student has to notify the agency or institution
in writing that he or she does not want any or all of those types of information about the student
designated as directory information.

In addition, FERPA provides that in the public notice to parents and eligible students, described above, an
educational agency may specify that disclosure of directory information will be limited to specific parties, for
specific purposes, or both. When an educational agency or institution specifies that disclosure of directory
information will be limited to specific parties, for specific purposes, or both, the educational agency or institution
must limit its directory information disclosures to those specified in its public notice.

SCSs Confidential Student Information Policy 6003 is in the attached SCS 2017-2018 Student Handbook which
is currently on the SCS website at: http://www.scsk12.org/#studentsparents. It includes the public notice
regarding directory information required by FERPA. Policy 6003 defines directory information and provides that
directory information can be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent or eligible students prior written
consent, but does allow parents and eligible students to request that directory information regarding the student
not be disclosed. The policy does not state that disclosures of directory information will be limited to specific
parties, for specific purposes, or both as FERPA allows. In fact, the policy defines outside organizations broadly
as organizations that, include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish
yearbooks.

PC 307 requires an LEA to provide the requested information in accordance with T.C.A. 10-7-504 and
FERPA. The language in the law is a mandate and is not permissive. While your letter states that SCS has a
board policy that prohibits the disclosure of directory information for marketing purposes, and to fulfill Green
Dot Public Schools request would not be in compliance with FERPA, this is incorrect.

SCSs annual public notice to parents regarding directory information provides that outside organizations,
include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks. This definition is
not an exhaustive list of entities and even specifically mentions entities that would be marketing to students and
parents for the purpose of selling merchandise not required for school. It is not logical to interpret the public
notice to parents in the student handbook as allowing disclosure of directory information to these entities to
market the sale of merchandise, but not public charter schools authorized by SCS and the ASD for the use of
ensuring parents are fully informed of all educational options available to their children.

Additionally, State law supersedes any board policy that is in conflict with the law. PC 307 requires SCS to
provide the proper directory notice to parents in accordance with FERPA (which SCS has) and make available
the information requested.

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Finally, SCS argues that the plain language of PC 307 does not permit SCS to provide Green Dot Public
Schools the information requested because it is a non-profit charter management organization and not a
chartering authority or a public charter school as stated in PC 307. Pursuant to T.C.A. 49-13-104(4), a charter
management organization is a nonprofit entity that operates multiple charter schools. It is unreasonable to
interpret PC 307 as prohibiting the entity that operates a charter school from requesting and receiving
information the charter school is authorized to access under the law.

The commissioner of education is required by state law to see that the school laws and the regulations of the
state board of education are faithfully executed. TDOE directs SCS to immediately comply with PC 307 by
fulfilling Green Dot Public Schools request and any subsequent requests for student contact information made
in accordance with PC 307. Complying with PC 307 will aid all parents of Shelby County in making fully
informed decisions about their childrens education.

Sincerely,

Candice McQueen

cc: Malika Anderson, ASD Superintendent

Christy Ballard, General Counsel
Rodney G. Moore, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer
William E. White II, Director of Planning and Accountability
Jennifer L. Ervin, Deputy General Counsel