Disposition of Education Records

The records retention/disposition schedule of educational records maintained by Connecticut public schools (Schedule M8) was developed by the Connecticut State Library in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education. While the schedule is intended to be comprehensive, it is not a definitive listing of records required by law to be maintained by schools. Instances may occur where a school system creates and maintains records not included on this list. School districts must procure prior approval from the Office of the Public Records Administrator before destroying any records whether or not they appear on this retention schedule.

School districts' retention and disposal of educational records must comply with the records maintenance requirements of applicable federal legislation. These are the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA, otherwise known as the Buckley Amendment) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Particularly important is the IDEA requirement for disposition of special-education records. IDEA requires school districts to inform parents when personally identifiable information collected, maintained, or used under IDEA is no longer needed to provide education services to the child. CFR regulation 34 CFR 300.573 advises, in part:

The personally identifiable information on a disabled child may be retained permanently unless the parents request that it be destroyed. Destruction of records is the best protection against improper and unauthorized disclosure. However, the records may be needed for other purposes. In informing parents about their rights under this section, the agency should remind them the records may be needed by the child or the parents for Social Security benefits or other purposes.

The school system must destroy this information at parents' request. Districts may, however, maintain (without time limitation) a permanent record containing a student's name, address, phone number, grades, attendance record, classes attended, grade level completed, and year completed.

Connecticut considers records to be no longer needed to provide educational services to a child when the minimum retention period is achieved. Before executing a directive to destroy records, school districts should caution parents/adult students, in record-destruction notices, that the parent or student may need the records in the future.

Records of students placed by local or regional boards of education or other state agencies in regional education service centers (RESCs) and approved private special education programs (APSEPs) are education records (including, but not limited to, medical records); therefore, retention and destruction of this information is an obligation of the sending school district. Education records maintained by the RESC or APSEP, when no longer needed to provide educational services, should be returned to the public agency for appropriate retention and destruction. In addition, public agencies must remember to inform parents/guardians of the location of all providers, to ensure that parents/guardians have access to all the student's education records.

If a copy of a student's education records is maintained by the RESC or APSEP, the RESC or APSEP must inform the parents/guardians that a copy of their student's records is maintained within the agency and must provide the parents/guardians access to the copy. The RESC or APSEP must also inform the local education agency that they are maintaining a copy of the student's record.

Vocational technical high schools operated by the State of Connecticut should follow this retention schedule, using the "Records Disposal RC-108 Authorization" to obtain permission to destroy their records.

Office of Public Records Administrator