Student Directory FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is student directory information not available until late September every year?
At the beginning of each school year, parents of students receive a Parent Student Handbook containing a student directory Information Release Form to complete and return to the school by mid-September. This gives parents the opportunity to opt out of having their student’s directory information released.
Once the forms are received, schools process them and the District creates the student directory information file for the current school year. Requests must wait until the forms are processed and the information is entered by schools.
2. Why is there a fee?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows a reasonable fee to be charged to retrieve pupil records. The District’s fee is three cents ($0.03) per record.
Fees for military requests for directory data are also permitted under Department of Defense policy, Title 32 CFR section 216.4. In addition, Section 3 of DoD 1304.24 guidance directs military services to avoid duplicating efforts when collecting student directory information.
The District therefore recommends that military recruiters coordinate one request each year rather than submitting separate requests for the same file.
3. What is considered “Directory Information”?
Each governing board approves student directory information from the statutory list of data elements. For authorized non-military and non-postsecondary requesters, the LAUSD Board of Education has designated the following as student directory information:
- Student name
- Address
- Telephone number
- Date of birth
- Current and most recent previous school or schools
- Dates of attendance
- Degrees, honors, and awards received
See the Parent Student Handbook Information Release Form for the list of authorized officials and organizations.
For requests from colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions, the Board has designated the name, home address, and home telephone number of students in grades 11 and 12 only.
For military recruiter requests, federal requirements1 specify that districts must provide the name, home address, school-assigned email address, and home telephone number of students in grades 11 and 12 whose parents or guardians2 have not opted out of releasing their student’s information to the military.
4. What if I want grade level or other information not listed?
Under federal and state law, LAUSD may disclose only the student directory information authorized by the Board of Education from the statutory list of eligible data elements.
Only the data elements identified by the Board may be shared. Any element not listed is not considered directory information by LAUSD and therefore cannot be released.
5. What forms of payment are accepted?
The District accepts check and electronic funds transfer (EFT) payments. Instructions for check payments are provided on the invoice. Instructions for EFT payments are available upon request.
Credit card payments are not accepted.
6. Can I request a list for the previous year?
No. The District is not authorized to release information for students who are no longer enrolled.
The District also cannot use a student’s directory-information opt-out status from the previous school year because the status resets at the beginning of each new school year. Families have through mid-September to opt out each year.
7. Can the list distinguish between 11th- and 12th-grade students?
No. The District cannot disclose a student’s grade level because grade level is not included among the student directory information categories under state law (Education Code section 49061).
8. Can military recruiters or postsecondary institutions request only 11th-grade or only 12th-grade students?
No. The District is not authorized to separate student directory information by grade level under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Title 20 of the United States Code regarding access to student recruiting information.