Effingham County School Districts Release School Records Information

Each public school district in Effingham County has policies and procedures for dealing with student records for the 2019-20 school year. Each school district - Altamont Unit 10, Beecher City Unit 20, Dieterich Unit 30, Effingham Unit 40 and Teutopolis Unit 50, adheres to policies and procedures on student records that are in compliance with the Illinois School Student Records Act.

The records of all students enrolled in the Effingham County schools will be kept in the building in which the student is attending, which will insure proper use of such records. After graduation from high school, each graduate's records will be kept on file at the high school from which he or she graduated.

Records of students who are enrolled in the school on or after July 1, 1977 will be separated into permanent and temporary records. Permanent records are maintained in each district for sixty years, while temporary records are purged after four years. Parents/guardians and eligible students in attendance prior to July 1, 1977 can request categorization to take place.

A student permanent record shall consist of students' and parents/ guardians' names and addresses, date and place of birth, gender, grades received, class rank, graduation date, grade level achieved, scores of college entrance examinations, attendance record, accident reports, health record and a record of the release of permanent and temporary record information.

Students and parents/guardians are afforded the following rights: To inspect and copy permanent and temporary records (cost of copying is paid by the parents/guardians); to control access and release of student records; to request a copy of the records; and to copy any student record information contained therein proposed to be destroyed or deleted. Also, parents/guardians have the right to inspect and challenge the information contained in a school's student record prior to transfer of the record to another school district.

On occasion, the school will release identifying information such as name, address, gender, birth date, grade level and place, and parents/guardians names and address; academic awards, degree and honors; information in relation to school-sponsored activities, organizations and athletics; and period of attendance in school. This directory information may be released to the general public, unless a parent requests that any or all information not be released on his or her child.