Federal & State Regulations
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Directory Information Notice
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Notification
- McKinney-Vento (Homeless Children)
- NYSED Parent Dashboard
- Section 504
- Special Education Child Find
- Title IX (Sexual Harassment and Discrimination)
- Title 45 (Press Release for Students)
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
The Central Islip School District certifies that all teachers hired after the first day of school and teaching in a program supported with the Title I funds are highly qualified. Board policy requires that applicants who are being considered for employment earned, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college, hold the correct certification for the grade level and subject area in which he/she will teach, and have met State qualifications and licensing criteria. Any questions you may have concerning the professional qualifications of your child’s teacher should be directed to the building principal.
School Choice is an option for identified schools under ESSA. School Choice permits students enrolled in identified buildings to transfer into similar grade level public schools within the district. (This option is available for Cordello and Mulvey Elementary School students). Notices are sent directly to the student's home. Interested parents or guardians should call the Assistant Superintendent’s Office at 631-348-5002 to inquire or receive information about the SCHOOL CHOICE Program.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Directory Information Notice
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law, requires that the District, with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records. However, the District may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless you have advised the District to the contrary in accordance with District procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the District to include this type of information from your child’s education records in certain District publications. Examples include:
- A concert program or playbill, showing your student’s role in a drama production;
- The annual yearbook or periodic newsletters;
- Honor roll or other recognition lists;
- Graduation programs;
- Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing weight and height of team members; and
- The District’s website, Facebook page, Instagram Page, Twitter account, and/or other officially sanctioned district social media
Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, may be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent’s prior written consent in connection with school-related activities or purposes. Examples of such outside organizations include, but are not limited to companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks. In addition, federal laws require the District to provide military recruiters, upon request, with the following information - names, addresses, and telephone listings - unless parents have advised the District that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without prior written consent.
The District has designated the following information as directory information:
- Student’s name - Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
- Photograph (still or moving) - Weight and height of members of athletic teams
- Major field of study - Degrees, honors, and awards received - Dates of attendance
- The most recent educational agency or institution attended - Grade level
If you DO NOT want the District to disclose directory information (as designated above) from your child’s education records, without your prior written consent, you must notify the District via mail or email to the district administration listed below no later than September 30 each school year. Please be sure to submit one request per child. The Central Islip School District utilizes several web-based services operated by third parties. In accordance with the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) for students under the age of 13, the District must notify you that these services may collect personal information for the use and benefit of the school. Please review the Data Privacy and Digital Security Section below for additional information.
Notifications should be sent to:
Matthew Matera, Assistant Superintendent for Administration
50 Wheeler Road
Central Islip, NY 1172 631-348-5000 ext. 1006
mmatera@centralislip.k12.ny.us
Thomas Weiner, Director of School Safety
50 Wheeler Road
Central Islip, NY 11722 631-348-5000 ext. 1013
tweiner@centralislip.k12.ny.us
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Notification
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) affords parents and students over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student’s education records. These rights are:
- The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the District receives a request for access. Parents or eligible students should submit to the building principal, a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The District official will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
- The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate or misleading or otherwise in violation of FERPA. Parents or eligible students who wish to amend a record should write to the building principal, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the District decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the District will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible student when notified of the right to a hearing.
- The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A “school official” is a person employed by the District as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement personnel); a person serving on the school board; a person or company with whom the District has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using its own employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, insurance investigator or company, medical consultant or therapist); a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks; an individual(s) and organization(s) which the District requests to make a review of the possible appropriateness of providing special education placement, program or services to a student on behalf of the District including, but not limited to BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services), other school districts, approved private schools, and providers of services such as speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, music therapy, counseling, autism services, special transportation, etc. An individual(s) and/ or organization(s) will be considered a school official regardless of whether the District compensates them for their services. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility including, but not limited to, reviewing or recommending services, programs, or placement. In the event of a health and safety emergency, the District may disclose information from a student’s education record when such disclosure appears likely to protect the safety of the student or others. Upon request, the District discloses education records without consent to officials of another district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the District to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA are:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
McKinney-Vento (Homeless Children)
NYSED Parent Dashboard
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has developed a Parent Dashboard to increase transparency and make information about school performance and other school-level data easier for parents and the public to access.
The Parent Dashboard is part of New York’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan, which emphasizes equity in education for all students and expands measures of school accountability and student success. This new dashboard provides parents with information about their child’s school. The Parent Dashboard is now available in addition to the New York State School Report Card on NYSED’s public data site. The Parent Dashboard offers information on all public schools including charter schools.
Section 504
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil rights law designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability in any program activity receiving Federal assistance. It guarantees certain rights to individuals with disabilities, including the right to full participation and access to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children regardless of the nature or severity of the disability. Section 504 requires the provision of appropriate educational services that are designed to meet the individual needs of qualified students to the same extent that the needs of students without a disability are met.
To qualify, a student must be determined to have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity including learning and behavior; have a record of having such an impairment OR be regarded as having such impairment. It ensures that a qualified child has equal access to education, and may receive appropriate accommodations and modifications tailored to the child’s individual needs.
Appropriate accommodations could entail education in regular classrooms, education in regular classrooms with supplementary modifications and/or accommodations, special education and related services OR any combination. To receive services under 504, a child must have a disability that limits one or more major life functions, including education, learning and behavior. Parents seeking to have their child receive services under Section 504 must submit a request in writing to the school asking for an evaluation to determine if there is a significant impact on your child’s learning or behavior, and request a copy of your school district’s policies and procedures on Section 504 from the Special Education Department at 631-348-5125.
Please visit the Special Education Department's Website for more information, resources and contacts. The United States Department of Education's website on Protecting Students with Disabilities contains detailed information on Section 504.
Special Education Child Find
What is Child Find?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act includes the Child Find mandate. Child Find requires all school districts to identify, locate and evaluate all children with disabilities, regardless of the severity of their disabilities. This obligation to identify all children who may need special education services exists even if the school is not providing special education services to the child.
The IDEA requires all States to develop and implement a practical method of determining which children with disabilities are receiving special education and related services and which children are not. (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(3); Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, pages 72, 206-207)
Early Intervention (Part C)
Child Find for infants and toddlers is governed by the Early Intervention Regulations (34 C.F.R. 303.321) consistent with Part B of IDEA 04 (34 C.F.R. 300.128).
Congress encourages states to provide Early Intervention Services so children with developmental delays and other disabilities will receive treatment early. Congress enacted the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers to provide interagency coordination of services to children from birth to two years of age. Under IDEA, states must ensure that children with disabilities are eligible for special education services by age three.
Early intervention programs may be administered by multiple agencies but are coordinated by an interagency team headed by a lead agency. This agency is responsible for ensuring that infants and toddlers suspected of having a disability are identified and that the various agencies involved have a referral system in place. Once a referral is made, a service coordinator is appointed and must complete an evaluation within 45 days.
- If you suspect your preschool child (ages 3 to 5) may have a disability, please call the Committee on Pre-school Special Education (CPSE) at 631-348-5125.
- If you suspect your school aged child (5 to 21) may have a disability, please call the Committee on Special Education (CSE) at 631-348-5125.
- If you suspect your child may have a disability and requires an accommodation, please contact the Section 504 Compliance Officer at 631-348-5125.
Please visit the Special Education Department's Website for more information, resources and contacts.
Title IX (Sexual Harassment and Discrimination)
Title 45 (Press Release for Students)
Unless objection to any of the following specific items of information are submitted in writing by parents or legal guardians or by those students themselves who are over the age of eighteen (18) years, the Central Islip School District herewith gives notice of intention to provide, release, or publish in newsletters, school or student newspapers, magazines, yearbooks, district social media, flyers, livestream (athletics/music), district website, or other publications. Daily or weekly newspapers, television, athletic programs, news releases and/or all of the following information pertaining to students as they may be appropriate under the circumstances: name of student, names of parents, address, age, height, weight, grade, major field of study, participation in recognized school activities, extracurricular activities and sports programs, academic honors, achievements, awards, scholarships, photos and similar information under Title 45. Parents who do not desire to release any of the above directory information must make a specific request in writing to the Superintendent of Schools by September 15th. If September 15th falls on a holiday or weekend requests will be accepted the following school day. Failure to make such a request shall be deemed consent to release, provide or publish the directory information.
Title 45, News & Media Requests should be directed and sent to: publicrelations@centralislip.k12.ny.us