Special Education & Privacy ACT?

Question

Is a teacher legally allowed to blurt out in front of the class that a student recieves special education services? Wouldn't that be considered a violation of the privacy act, because to me its no ones business whether a student recieves special education services.

Its not an "obvious situation". My son only gets minor modifications. There is an act called the Federal law Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which states schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record.

Answer 1

It depends, there are acts that guarantee a child the right to privacy. However, in a classroom situation it can be difficult to totally guarantee that privacy.

An example, if the child has a paraprofessional who is designated to work with that child only, other students may question why the staff person is not available to them. It would be appropriate to say, "Mrs. Smith is here for Child X, I will be able to be with you in a moment." Most appropriate would be to not explain Mrs. Smith's roll and offer the child help yoursefl.

However, the staff does not have the right to tell the students, "Well, Child X has problems in reading due to a learning disability so Mrs. Smith is here to help listen to her read and to make sure she understands it."

It is a fine line. Kids will watch and soon figure out who gets accomodations in school. However, school personel do not have the right to openly discuss those accomodations or why they are being used.

My daughter has an emotional behavioral disorder. When she started school, the school came into her room to tell the kids about children with emotional disorders to help them understand my daughter's behaviors. They did not identify her. They did not need my permission to do this, as they did not mention her specifically. My daughter knew this was about her. She made some of her best friends that year and many are still her friends, thanks to staff sensitivity.

Answer 2

The privacy act - HIPAA - regards health information, so it wouldn't apply here. You need to discuss this at your next IEP meeting - or ask for a special IEP meeting - to go over your expectations for privacy. In many schools, it's quite apparent who is getting special education services because they are in a special classroom or a para is helping out in a mainstremed. It's not a big deal. But if it is your desire that this not be known, let the educators know.

Answer 3

I agree that you need to let the school know. I would add to that that it CAN be written into the IEP itself!

Answer 4

they are not suppose to but they sometimes forget that they are not suppose to talk about it in front of any body unless they are talking to another teacher.