DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of the Secretary

FINAL

REGULATORY IMPLEMENTING ORDER

252 Required Educational Records and Transfer and Maintenance of Educational Records

I. Summary of the Evidence and Information Submitted

The Secretary of Education intends to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 252 Required Educational Records and Transfer and Maintenance of Educational Records as a result of the five year review cycle. The amendments make changes to the definition of Discipline Records to align with federal reporting; references to the state student assessment program; a cross regulatory reference because of changes to the Children with Disabilities regulations; and outlines a charter schools responsibility in regard to Delaware Public Archives.

Notice of the proposed regulation was published in the News Journal and the Delaware State News on Thursday, December 3, 2009, in the form hereto attached as Exhibit "A". Comments were received by the Governor's Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens and the State Council for Persons with Disabilities. The Department has incorporated one of the recommendations provided by the Councils. First, section 2.1.3 has been revised to require the Cumulative Record File to include records related to the identification, evaluation, placement and provision of FAPE to student identified under Section 504 and provided with accommodation plans. The second proposed revision is deemed unnecessary as section 3.1 relates to a new school's authority to request transfer of records and section 3.2 relates to the original schools obligation to transfer records to a new school.

II. Findings of Facts

The Secretary finds that it is appropriate to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 252 Required Educational Records and Transfer and Maintenance of Educational Records as a result of the five year review cycle. The amendments make changes to the definition of Discipline Records to align with federal reporting; references to the state student assessment program; a cross regulatory reference because of changes to the Children with Disabilities regulations; and outlines a charter schools responsibility in regard to Delaware Public Archives.

III. Decision to Amend the Regulation

For the foregoing reasons, the Secretary concludes that it is appropriate to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 252 Required Educational Records and Transfer and Maintenance of Educational Records . Therefore, pursuant to 14 Del.C. §122, 14 DE Admin. Code 252 Required Educational Records and Transfer and Maintenance of Educational Records attached hereto as Exhibit "B" is hereby amended. Pursuant to the provision of 14 Del.C. §122(e), 14 DE Admin. Code 252 Required Educational Records and Transfer and Maintenance of Educational Records hereby amended shall be in effect for a period of five years from the effective date of this order as set forth in Section V. below.

IV. Text and Citation

The text of 14 DE Admin. Code 252 Required Educational Records and Transfer and Maintenance of Educational Records amended hereby shall be in the form attached hereto as Exhibit "B", and said regulation shall be cited as 14 DE Admin. Code 252 Required Educational Records and Transfer and Maintenance of Educational Records in the Administrative Code of Regulations for the Department of Education.

V. Effective Date of Order

The actions hereinabove referred to were taken by the Secretary pursuant to 14 Del.C. §122 on January 14, 2010. The effective date of this Order shall be ten (10) days from the date this Order is published in the Delaware Register of Regulations.

IT IS SO ORDERED the 14th day of January 2010.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Lillian M. Lowery, Ed. D., Secretary of Education

Approved this 14th day of January 2010

252 Required Educational Records and Transfer and Maintenance of Educational Records

The following words and terms, when used in this regulation, shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly states otherwise:

“Court Orders” shall mean any written direction from a court of competent jurisdiction directed to the student or affecting the student’s care or custody.

“Discipline Record” shall mean information about any and all periods of out of school suspension or of expulsion from the regular school setting imposed on a student as a result of an infraction of the school or district’s code of conduct or other rules.

“Emergency Treatment Card” shall mean the card containing the general emergency information and procedures for the care of a student when the student becomes sick or injured in school as required in 14 DE Admin Code 811.

“Identifying Data” shall mean the name of the student, date of birth, sex, race and ethnicity, address, telephone number, Delaware student identification number and the name of the parent(s), guardian(s) or Relative Caregiver.

“Progress Report” shall mean a single record maintained for each student in kindergarten through grade 8 that contains end of year and up to date grades; standardized test(s) scores such as the DSTP or successor state student assessment; and attendance data for each year of the student’s attendance.

“School Health Record” shall mean the form required by 14 DE Admin Code 811 for Delaware public school students.

“Student Transcript” shall mean a single record maintained for each student in grades 9 and above that contains the following: end of year and up to date grades; credits earned; class rank; Grade Point Average (GPA); withdrawal or graduation date; standardized test(s) scores such as the DSTP or successor state student assessment, SAT, PSAT, ACT; attendance data and school activities. If applicable, a list of the career technical competencies achieved by a student enrolled in a specific career technical program shall also be included.

2.1 Each Delaware school shall maintain a Cumulative Record File either as an electronic or paper file for each student enrolled.

2.1.1 The student Cumulative Record File shall contain the Emergency Treatment Card, Identifying Data, School Health Record, Progress Report, Student Transcript (for students in grades 9 and above) and Discipline Record.

2.1.2 The student Cumulative Record File shall also contain any Court Orders in the school or district’s possession, to the extent the school or district maintains such documents for an individual student.

2.1.3 In addition, the Cumulative Record File for a child with a disability as defined in 14 DE Admin Code 925 [or for a child identified under Section 504] shall contain any records related to the identification, evaluation, placement, and provision of a free appropriate public education. Such documents may be collected and maintained separately.

3.1 When a student transfers from a public school, private school or an educational program operated by the Department of Services for Children Youth and Their Families to any other school in Delaware, the receiving school shall immediately request the Cumulative Record File from the sending school or program.

3.2 The Cumulative Record File shall follow each student transferred from one school to another including files for each student with disabilities transferred from one school to another.

3.2.1 Public schools, school districts, private schools and educational programs operated by the Department of Services for Children Youth and Their Families shall promptly transfer a student’s Cumulative Record File upon the request of a receiving school.

3.2.2 Unpaid student fees or fines shall not be a basis for a public school, school district or an educational program operated by the Department of Services for Children Youth and Their Families to deny or to delay transfer of the Cumulative Record File.

3.2.3 Students shall not be denied enrollment into a public school on the grounds that the student’s Cumulative Record File has not been received.

3.3 Before transferring student records, a public school, school district or private school shall specifically confirm that the Cumulative Record File contains the student’s Discipline Record.

3.4 When students transfer to a Delaware school from any other school including a school in a foreign country the receiving school is responsible for having the transcripts evaluated.

4.1 The Delaware School District General Records Retention Schedule published by the Delaware Public Archives shall be followed as to the length of time and special considerations for the maintenance of education records.

4.2 Contracts for storage of student records of graduates, withdrawals and special education students for district storage, shall be initiated between the school district or charter school and the Delaware Public Archives.

4.3 The Cumulative Record Files for students who have graduated from or who left school prior to graduation from high school shall be stored at the school or district of last attendance or in the Delaware Public Archives.

5.1 The Delaware School District General Records Retention Schedule published by the Delaware Public Archives shall be followed as to the length of time and special considerations for the destruction of any education records.

5.2 The destruction of educational records of children with disabilities shall also comply with the requirements of 14 DE Admin Code 925 927.