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HomeX > Privacy, Confidentiality, Education Records> Federal Court Rules That Parents Entitled to Test Protocols (see Newport-Mesa case; NASP Newsletter) |
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Federal Court Rules That Parents Are Entitled to Test Protocols To view Pete Wright's YouTube video about "Parent's Right of Access to Test Protocols," please click the YouTube link below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxQoiMDpNuY On May 24, 2005 the U.S. District Court, Central District of California issued a decision in Newport-Mesa v. California Dept. of Ed. and held that a California statute requiring copies of test protocols to be provided to parents of special education students falls within acceptable "fair use" under federal copyright law. The Court invited the publishers of the Weschler IQ test and of the Woodcock-Johnson tests, who had the right to complain about copyright violations if necessary, to intervene in this case. The Court held that the parents were entitled to a copy of their child's test protocols. Download decision in Newport-Mesa v. California Dept of Ed, 371 F.Supp.2d 1170 (2005) NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPT. OF EDUCATION et al., Defendants. (Verbatim quotes below are copied from the 14 page decision.) "California Education Code section 56504 provides parents of special education students may have copies of their child's test protocols. Defendant Jack Anthony's son is a seven-year-old with special education needs who lives in Plaintiff Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Mr. Anthony requested copies of his son's test protocols before a scheduled Individualized Education Program ("IEP") meeting. The District declined to provide him with the copyrighted test protocol for the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement III. "Mr. Anthony filed a complaint with Defendant California Department of Education, which found the District out of compliance with California Education Code section 56504 by failing to provide Mr. Anthony with records within five days of his request. The Department ordered the District to revise its policies and procedures on student record requests to comply with section 56504 and to send it a copy of the new written policy within sixty days. The Department denied a request for reconsideration of this compliance report. Plaintiff brought the matter to this Court, contending United States copyright law prevents it from providing copies of copyrighted test protocols. "The District requested a declaration of its rights under copyright law and an injunction to prevent the Department from enforcing its compliance report. At the Court's invitation, Harcourt Assessment, Inc., the publisher and copyright owner of the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-III, and Riverside Publishing Co., the publisher and copyright owner of the Woodcock-Johnson III, intervened in the case to assert the copyright interest." ". . . The Court concludes a school giving parents of special education students copies of their children's test protocols when requested under California Education Code section 56504 is a fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107. In order to minimize the risk of improper use, the District may choose to use appropriate safeguards, such as requiring a review by parents of the original test protocols before obtaining a copy, a written request for a copy, a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement, or other reasonable measures." END From NASP - Copying Protocols to Parents: Clarification of FERPA Requirements
NASP Communiqué, Vol. 31, #1 From National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) NASP Communique, Vol. 31, #1, September 2002 http://www.nasponline.org/publications/cq/cq311protocols.aspx
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