Student Dismissal

Student Dismissal Prior to the Regularly Scheduled Dismissal Time 

In order for a school to release a student before the regularly scheduled dismissal time in non-emergency circumstances (e.g., an appointment off school grounds), the biological or adoptive custodial parent, foster parent, or the legal guardian must submit a written notice to the school on the date of the intended release. This is true even if it is the parent or legal guardian who will be picking up the student. (Note: A stepparent is not considered an adoptive custodial parent or a legal guardian of a student unless they have legally adopted the student.) A written notice must be provided for each early dismissal release (e.g. a written note covering multiple dates will not be accepted). The written notice must indicate the full name of the person to whom the student will be released, the time of the release, the signature of the legal guardian, and the reason for the release.  The person to whom the school is to release the student must present proper identification at the time of the release. 

In limited or emergency circumstances, telephone requests for early dismissal of a student shall be honored only if the caller can be positively identified as the student’s parent/legal guardian. In these cases, the school must document the request from the telephone call in the student’s attendance file. 

Although FERPA permits stepparents to review a student’s educational records if they are present day-to-day with the natural parent and student and the student’s other parent is absent from that home, those FERPA rights are not dependent on and do not impact the stepparent’s legal custody of the child for the purposes of educational decision-making, dismissal, or other parental rights. The rights afforded stepparents under FERPA only apply to educational records. Although stepparents play an important role in a student’s life, a stepparent who does not have legal custody cannot authorize their stepchild’s release before the regularly scheduled dismissal time to either themselves or others or authorize their stepchild’s release to others at the immediate conclusion of the school day.