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," Piodas said, adding that changes in national enforcement and immigration policy have altered what families might consider harmful to disclose. She asked the board to translate the entire FERPA notice — including the 10-day parental opt-out instructions and the Department of Education complaint information — into Spanish and to post when the 2025 FERPA notification will be published.

Piodas also raised Policy JFGa (law-enforcement and DSS learner interview policy), which she said requires principals to verify parental consent or a warrant before permitting law enforcement to interview a student on campus. She asked who would be responsible for informing a minor who is presented with a warrant about the minor's Miranda and Fifth Amendment rights, and she said the policy language that treats the learner turning 18 as the moment they are fully authorized to make interview decisions is incorrect as written.

Superintendent Dr. Schultz acknowledged the concerns and suggested that the policy committee review the items; board members invited Piodas to provide her materials by email so staff and the policy committee can overlay her concerns with the district's existing review work. The board also confirmed the district's translation practice could be improved; Dr. Schultz said the federal complaint process information is translated into Spanish but that the specific parental-notice text about the 10-day opt-out was not translated in the version Piodas cited. A board member suggested the policy committee take up the FERPA and JFGa items and report back.

Why it matters: FERPA and campus interview procedures set the rules for what student data can be shared without consent and how the district and school officials respond to law-enforcement requests for interviews. Community members raised translation and due-process questions that district staff said the policy committee will examine.

Board response and next steps

- The board directed the policy committee to review the FERPA directory-information definitions and Policy JFGa (law-enforcement/DSS learner interviews).

- Dr. Schultz asked Piodas to submit her documentation and specific concerns by email so district staff can cross-reference them with the district's internal review already underway.

- Board members acknowledged that some federally required materials had been translated into Spanish but that the particular opt-out instructions Piodas cited were not translated in the posted version; staff will follow up on the translation and timing of the 2025 FERPA notice posting.

Attribution and limits

Piodas expressed legal interpretations in public comment, including a view about minors' Fifth Amendment rights; the board did not adopt a legal finding at the meeting and asked its policy committee and counsel to review the policy language. The transcript records the parent's statements and the board's commitment to review; it does not record a final legal determination.