Media Release & Restrictions

Under Board Policy JRA/JRC and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA):

• DCSD schools and our District may disclose information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy without written consent of the parent/guardian, if the primary purpose is to allow the District or school to include this type of information in certain school publications, such as yearbooks, newsletters, websites, social media, playbills, team rosters or honor rolls.

Additionally, unless indicated by the media consent form, students may:

• Publish digital or social media online as part of their lesson
• Participate in interviews, photography, audio or video recordings by our school, District or news media

How to Opt Out & Restrict by Level:

• MEDIA BLACKOUT: 
  Do NOT publish information about my student, including basic information. This Opt Out is the most restrictive option and therefore results in the automatic opt out of ALL MEDIA LEVELS. This Opt Out restricts our school and the District from releasing any personally identifiable information about a student, including basic details like their name, school, grade and their school photo.
  • As a result, the student will NOT be included in:
    • The yearbook portrait section (this includes their name and school photo) nor any other image in our yearbook
    • Official class (group) photos
    • Any type of celebratory publication or online post by the school, i.e., the list of students who received any award
    • Student images, pictures and videos in any public or password protected newsletter, website/webpage or social media

• INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA:
  Do NOT allow the student to publish digital and/or social media online as part of their lesson. This Opt Out restricts a student from participating in learning opportunities that result in the school or District publishing a student’s basic information (like their name, school, grade and their school photo) and class work (writing, drawings, paintings, photography, etc.) This Opt Out still ALLOWS students to work in secured digital environments as stated in our Parent Handbook.
  • As a result, the student will NOT be included in classroom activities which involve publishing of digital/social media online, including:
    • Publicly visible or archived videos, web chats or live streams
    • Podcasts
    • Publishing of scientific/scholarly reports by outside organizations
    • Posting or sharing photographs or videos of classwork or photos

• MEDIA COVERAGE:
  Do NOT allow the student to be interviewed, photographed or recorded by school staff (student journalists do not count), DCSD or news media for coverage of school events or achievement. This Opt Out restricts schools, DCSD and outside media organizations from taking photos or videos of the student or allowing the student to participate in interviews during academic activities.
  • As a result, the student will NOT be included in public media coverage, including:
    • Photos or videos taken of student or student’s work in the student’s academic environment
    • Interviews (audio or video) with representatives from the school, DCSD or outside media
    • Student images, pictures and videos in any public class or school-wide newsletter, website or social media 
  • As a result, the student can still be included in password protected school webpages/drives, including:
    • BFA website (Password Protected pages)
    • Teacher Password Protected webpages
    • Teacher Google Drives

**NOTE: There is no expectation of privacy during school assemblies or other large school gatherings, sporting events, off-campus field trips or extra-curricular activities. Privacy cannot be guaranteed in public locations.