Privacy Policy

Parents’ Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security

In accordance with Section 2-d of the New York State Education Law, the Hempstead School 
District hereby sets forth the following Parents’ Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security, which 
is applicable to all students and their parents and legal guardians.

(1) Section 2-d of the New York State Education Law and the Family Educational Rights 
and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable 
information. Section 2-d and FERPA assure the confidentiality of records with respect to 
"third parties," and provide parents with the right to consent to disclosures of personally 
identifiable information contained in the child’s education records. Exceptions to this 
include, but are not limited to, school employees, officials and certain State and Federal 
officials who have a legitimate educational need to access such records. In addition, the 
District will, upon request of parents, or adult students, or if otherwise required by law, 
disclose student records to officials of another school district in which a student seeks to 
enroll.

(2) A student's personally identifiable information cannot be sold or released for any 
commercial purposes;

(3) Personally identifiable information (PII) includes, but is not limited to:
i. The student's name;
ii. The name of the student's parent or other family members;
iii. The address of the student or student's family;
iv. A personal identifier, such as the student's social security number, student number, 
or biometric record;
v. Other indirect identifiers, such as the student's date of birth, place of birth, and 
mother's maiden name;
vi. Other information that, alone or in combination, is linked or linkable to a specific 
student that would allow a reasonable person in the school community, who does 
not have personal knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to identify the student 
with reasonable certainty; or
vii. Information requested by a person who the District reasonably believes knows the 
identity of the student to whom the education record relates.

(4) In accordance with FERPA, Section 2-d and the District’s policy on student records, 
parents have the right to inspect and review the complete contents of their child's 
education record.
Parents’ Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security

(5) The District has safeguards in place to protect student data, including personally 
identifiable information stored or transferred by the District. These safeguards include 
but are not limited to: data center that is locked, alarmed and equipped with a security 
camera; intrusion detection and firewall protection through BOCES; password 
protection with periodic forced changes; anti-virus software with continuous updates; 
and centralized databases with advanced encryption standard. The District’s Student 
Information System and other centralized databases employ advanced object-based 
security model that is both role- and function-based. System administrators assign 
rights, by group or individual, based on the tools and rights required by the roles or job 
functions. The District is committed to continuous systems audits and improvement of 
these safety protocols with industry standards and best practices, in accordance with 
under state and federal laws. 

(6) New York State, through the New York State Education Department, collects a number 
of student data elements for authorized uses. The District periodically uploads student 
data requested by the New York State Education Department to the State Data 
Warehouse. A complete list of all data elements collected by the State is available for 
public review at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/sirs.

(7) Parents have the right to submit complaints about possible breaches of student data. 
Complaints should be directed to Dr. Felicia Prince, Data Protection Officer for Hempstead UFSD, 185 Peninsula Boulevard, 
Hempstead, NY 11550; 516-434-4187, fprince@hempsteadschools.org.

(8) The District has subscribed to the BOCES’ Regional Data Privacy and Security Service. 
Under this service, all software being used in the District will be catalogued. When the 
District acquires new software, or enters into a contract with third party contractors who 
may have access to student, teacher and or other staff data, the terms and conditions of 
such agreements are reviewed to determine and/or ensure the following:
• The names of the third-party contractors, the product, and the exclusive 
purpose(s) for which the student, teacher or principal data will be used;
• The commencement and expiration dates of the contract;
• A description of how the data will be disposed of by the contractor when the 
contract is fulfilled; and
• The data storage and security measures undertaken by the contractor

(9) A parent, eligible student, teacher or principal may challenge the accuracy of the student, 
teacher or principal data that is collected by filing a written request with the 
Superintendent of Schools or his/her administrative designee through:
Dr. Felicia Prince, Data Protection Officer for Hempstead UFSD, 185 Peninsula Boulevard, 
Hempstead, NY 11550; 516-434-4187, fprince@hempsteadschools.org.