Brookings parent urges review of FERPA directory rules and law-enforcement interview policy; board refers matter to policy committee

A Brookings parent asked the school board to review the district's Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) directory information policy and the district's law-enforcement and Department of Social Services learner interview policy, saying current language could expose students and that some required opt-out information is not translated into Spanish.

Bess Piodas, who identified herself as a Brookings resident and parent of a student in the district, said she reviewed the district's posted FERPA policy and found the district's directory-information definition includes items that she considers more sensitive than typical directory fields. Piodas noted the district's list includes students' names, addresses, telephone listings, dates and places of birth and "most recent educational agency or institution," and she compared that list to the more limited information she saw while working in a university registrar's office.

"I think that's a little aggressive,"…