Iowa Department of Education

Student records are the property of the school, not the student. When a student transfers to School B from School A, School A sends a COPY ONLY of the elements of the student’s permanent file to School B.  School A retains the original permanent file, and School B uses the copy sent to it as the building block on which School B builds its own permanent file for the student. 

 

The originals of the cumulative record may be sent by School A to School B.  School A may want to retain copies of pertinent parts of the cumulative record if the student is likely to return to School A or if there were unresolved issues regarding the student.  A school should always keep copies of any records from the cumulative file it needs to protect itself from any potential future claims regarding students, including former students.

 

As a reminder, 281-Iowa Administrative Code rule 12.3(4) defines permanent record as the "historical record of official information concerning the student's education.  ...  At a minimum, the permanent office record should contain evidence of attendance and educational progress, serve as an official transcript, contain other data for use in planning to meet student needs, and provide data for official school and school district reports."

 

The cumulative record includes "courses taken, scholastic progress, school attendance, physical and health record, experiences, interests, aptitudes, attitudes, abilities, honors, extracurricular activities, part-time employment, and future plans.  It is the "working record" used by the instructional professional staff in understanding the student."