Public Information

Both state and federal laws protect the confidentiality of information about your child that identifies him or her. Such information is known as “personally identifiable information.” Under New York state’s education law, if you are a parent or legal guardian of a child at Growing Up Green Charter Schools, you have the following rights regarding the privacy and security of your child’s personally identifiable information and data:

• Your child’s personally identifiable information cannot be sold or released for any commercial purposes.
• If your child is under age 18, you have the right to inspect and review the complete contents of your child’s education records.
• Safeguards must be in place to protect your child’s personally identifiable data when it is stored or transferred. These safeguards must meet industry standards and best practices. Examples of such safeguards include encryption, firewalls, and password protection.
• You have the right to make complaints about possible breaches of student data and to have such complaints addressed.
• You have a right to be notified in accordance with applicable laws and regulations if a breach or unauthorized release of your child’s personally identifiable information occurs.
• Employees with access to personally identifiable informationI will be trained annually on safeguarding personally identifiable information.

Complaints to Growing Up Green Charter Schools should be directed in writing to:

General Counsel and Data Protection Officer
Growing Up Green Charter Schools
39-27 28th St, Long Island City, NY 11101

Parents may also submit a complaint to NYSED online.

Growing Up Green will respond to complaints pursuant to the procedures outlined here.

Visit the NYS Education Department website to learn more about the type of information the NYSED collects and parents’ Bill of Rights. You may also obtain a copy of this list by writing to the Office of Information & Reporting Services, New York State Education Department, Room 863 EBA, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234

APPENDIX

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION REGARDING THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTORS

In the course of complying with its obligations under the law and providing educational services, Growing Up Green Charter Schools has entered into agreements with certain third-party contractors. Each contract that Growing Up Green Charter Schools enters into with a third party contractor where the contractor receives personally identifiable information from student educational records or certain teacher or principal data will include the following information:

1. the exclusive purposes for which the student data or teacher or principal data will be used;
2. how the third party contractor will ensure that the subcontractors, persons or entities that the third party contractor will share the student data or teacher or principal data with, if any, will abide by data protection and security requirements;
3. when the agreement expires and what happens to the student data or teacher or principal data upon expiration of the agreement;
4. if and how a parent, student, eligible student, teacher or principal may challenge the accuracy of the student data or teacher or principal data that is collected; and
5. where the student data or teacher or principal data will be stored (described in such a manner as to protect data security), and the security protections taken to ensure such data will be protected, including whether such data will be encrypted.

Files:

• Breach of Unauthorized Release of PII_For Website_2020.pdf

GUGCS Notification of Rights under FERPA for Schools

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents/guardians and students who are 18 years of age or older (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student’s education records. These rights are:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days after the day Growing Up Green Charter Schools (“GUGCS”) receives a request for access.
   1. Parents/guardians or eligible students who wish to inspect their child’s or their education records should submit to the Managing Director of Operations a written request that identifies the records they wish to inspect. The Managing Director of Operations will make arrangements for access and notify the parent/guardian or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.
   1. Parents/guardians or eligible students who wish to ask GUGCS to amend their child’s or their education record should write the Director of Operations clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it should be changed. If GUGCS decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, GUGCS will notify the parent/guardian or eligible student of the decision and of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent/guardian or eligible student when notified of the right to a hearing.
3. The right to provide written consent before GUGCS discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
   1. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. The criteria for determining who constitutes a school official and what constitutes a legitimate educational interest must be set forth in GUGCS’ annual notification for FERPA rights. A school official typically includes a person employed by the school or school district as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel) or a person serving on the school board. A school official also may include a volunteer, contractor, or consultant who, while not employed by the school, performs an institutional service or function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist; a parent or student volunteering to serve on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee; or a parent, student, or other volunteer assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official typically has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by GUGCS to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are:
   1. Student Privacy Policy Office
      U.S. Department of Education
      400 Maryland Avenue, SW
      Washington, DC 20202

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Notice for Directory Information

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law, requires that Growing Up Green Charter Schools (“GUGCS”) with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records. However, GUGCS may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless you have advised GUGCS to the contrary in accordance with GUGCS procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow GUGCS to include information from your child’s education records in certain school publications. Examples include:

• A playbill, showing your student’s role in a drama production;The annual yearbook;
• Honor roll or other recognition lists;
• Graduation programs; and
• Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing weight and height of team members.

Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent’s prior written consent. Outside organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks. In addition, two federal laws require local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) to provide military recruiters, upon request, with the following information – names, addresses and telephone listings – unless parents have advised the LEA that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent.

If you do not want GUGCS to disclose any or all of the types of information designated below as directory information from your child’s education records without your prior written consent, you must notify GUGCS in writing (emailing the Managing Director of Operations) by October 1st of each school year. GUGCS has designated the following information as directory information:

• Student’s name
• Address
• Telephone listing
• Electronic mail address
• Photograph
• Date of birth
• Dates of attendance
• Grade level
• The most recent educational agency or institution attended
• Student ID number, user ID, or other unique personal identifier used to communicate in electronic systems but only if the identifier cannot be used to gain access to education records except when used in conjunction with one or more factors that authenticate the user’s identity, such as a PIN, password, or other factor known or possessed only by the authorized user

• 990
• Annual Financial Audits
• ARP-ESSER
• ARP-HCY
• Board Meeting Financials
• ESSA Title Applications
• ESSER
• ESSER 2
• GUGCS Reopening Plan
• NYSED Annual Reports

• Growing Up Green Charter School I
• Growing Up Green Charter School II

GUGCS District Wide Safety Plan (2024-2025)

Please click the file link to view. If you have questions or comments, please email Steve Viola, Chief Operations Officer, at viola@gugcs.org. Thank you.

Files:

• GUGCS District Wide Safety Plan _2024-2025__rev 8_31_24.pdf

Files:

• GUG FOIA.pdf