Required Notifications

State and Federal Laws require that school districts notify parents/guardians of certain policies, protocols, etc. each year. Below are most required notifications with additional important information the North Syracuse Central School District. 

Following is a listing of notices provided: 

• Parent Notification Regarding Student Work and Photos
• Parents Bill of Rights for Data Privacy and Security 
• BOE Policy 4202.3 Data Protection Policy
• Dignity for All Students Act
• Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Notice
• Protection of Pupil Rights Act Notification
• Notification of Policies
• Notification of Specific Events
• Notification of Special Education Referral and Evaluation Rights
• Attendance & Reporting Your Child’s Absences
• District-wide Safety Plan
• Health Services
• School Closing Information and Early Dismissal Information
• Non-discrimination Statement
• Code of Conduct

Parent Notification Regarding Student Work and Photos: During the school year, your child may have the opportunity to have their photo taken, video image and voice recorded, and/or art and written work published in connection with a school district activity or program. Your child's photo (image), school work and/or name may be published in local newspapers, posted (displayed) on the district's internet site, or used by the requesting organization (local TV or print media) for programming, i.e., backup and their news stories. If you DO NOT want your child's picture, name or schoolwork to be used in newspaper articles, video, and/or district publications including our district's website, please inform your school principal in writing.

Attendance & Reporting Your Child’s Absences: Regular classroom attendance is mandatory under the provision of the Education Law. According to Board of Education Policy 5100.1 on Comprehensive Attendance, children who turn 6 years of age during the school year are required to attend school at the start of classes in September. Also, students who turn 16 during a school year continue to be subject to the compulsory education laws through the end of that school year. The North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education strongly believes that daily classroom attendance is an important aspect of a student’s educational program.

The North Syracuse Central School District is proud of its 95% classroom attendance record, and believes that regular attendance helps to form good work habits, which will benefit students in their future. 

Within the meaning of the Education Law, excused absences are for illness or injury, medical or dental emergencies, family emergencies, death or religious holidays. Upon returning to school students must present a written explanation relative to their absence, including the specific dates they were out, to their teacher or attendance office. State law requires a written note or e-mail to follow the phone call. If a written note/e-mail is not submitted, the absence will be considered unexcused.

Chronic truancy problems are reported to the Onondaga Family Court and the student may be adjudicated as a “Person in Need of Supervision” (PINS).

District-wide Safety Plan

Health Services: Promoting good health and wellness is one of the objectives of the North Syracuse Central School District and is fundamental to the achievement of all other objectives. School health services are an essential component of the total school program. Therefore, provisions for school health have become important for all students.

The health office’s main functions are to:

• Attend to the daily medical needs of students
• Complete medical screening of students’ vision and hearing
• Supervise athletic and school physical examinations
• Administer medication prescribed by a physician or dentist
• Maintain student medical records
• Attend to all accidents and emergencies
• Contact parents concerning student health problems

The school nurse is available to talk with parents regarding any health problems or to discuss community resources.

Regarding BMI reporting: Our school district will be reporting to New York State Department of Health information about student’s weight status groups. Only summary information is sent. No names and no information about individual students are sent. However, you may choose to have your child’s information excluded from this survey report.  If you do not wish to have your child’s weight status group information included as part the Health Department’s survey, please notify your child’s School Health Office by the first of January of the school year.

School Closing Information and Early Dismissal Information: Please be sure to complete and update your child’s Emergency Form and update it when necessary.  Your child’s school must know where your child should go in the event of an early dismissal.

Non-discrimination Statement

The North Syracuse Central School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, age, sex/gender, national origin, ethnic background, disability, military status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by applicable law in the employment and educational opportunities it offers, including vocational educational opportunities, and provides equal access to use of School District facilities by the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The District is committed to adhering to the non-discrimination provisions of Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the New York Human Rights Law.

The North Syracuse Central School District also does not discriminate on the basis of sex with respect to employment or in the educational programs and activities it provides (including vocational programs), including the appointment of employees, employment pay, benefits and opportunities, counseling services for students, access by students to educational programs, course offerings, textbooks and student activities, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The North Syracuse Central School District does not discriminate on the basis of disability in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the New York Human Rights Law.  Furthermore, the District does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission or access to its programs.  No person shall be denied employment or employment advancement solely because of any physical, mental or medical impairment, provided the individual is capable of performing, with or without reasonable accommodation, the essential functions of the job applied for or held.

Inquiries regarding the District’s Non-Discrimination Policy should be directed to:

Section 504 Compliance Officer: Ms. Valerie DiFlorio, Executive Director of Pupil Personnel
North Syracuse Central Schools
5355 West Taft Road
North Syracuse, New York 13212
(315) 218-2120

OR

Title IX, Title VI, Title VII, ADA, ADEA and New York Human Rights Law Compliance Officer: Mr. Jason Nephew, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources
North Syracuse Central Schools
5355 West Taft Road,
North Syracuse, New York 13212
(315) 218-2125

Code of Conduct: The North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education is committed to providing a safe and orderly school environment where students may receive and district personnel may deliver quality educational services without disruption or interference. Responsible behavior by students, teachers, other district personnel, parents and other visitors is essential to achieving this goal.

The district has a long-standing set of expectations for conduct on school property and at school functions. These expectations are based on the principles of civility, mutual respect, citizenship, character, tolerance, honesty and integrity.

The Board recognizes the need to clearly define these expectations for acceptable conduct on school property and at school functions, to identify the possible consequences of unacceptable conduct, and to ensure that discipline, when necessary, is administered promptly and fairly. In addition, the district has the legal authority and reserves the right to discipline students for “off-campus conduct” (i.e., conduct that occurs off school property and not at school function) which endangers the safety, morals, health or welfare of others within the educational system or which adversely affects the educative process. The district also has the legal authority and reserves the right to discipline students for cyberbullying, and other off-campus speech that actually causes, or is reasonably forecast as being likely to cause, a material and substantial disruption to the work and/or discipline of the school. 

To this end, the Board has adopted a code of conduct, Policy 5311.1. Click here to view/download the entire policy.

Dignity for All Students Act

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Notice

(i) The right to consent before students are required to submit to a survey that is funded in whole or in part by a program of the DOE, which concerns one or more of the following protected areas (“protected information survey”): 

1. Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent; 

2. Mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family; 

3. Sex behavior or attitudes; 

4. Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior; 

5. Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships; 

6. Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as lawyers, physicians, and ministers; 

7. Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent; 

8. Income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program). 

(ii) The right of the parent and eligible student to receive notice and an opportunity to opt-out of: 

1. Any other protected information survey, regardless of funding;

2. Activities involving the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or selling or otherwise providing that information to others for marketing or sales purposes; and

3. Any non-emergency, invasive physical examination or screening that is required as a condition of attendance, administered by the school and scheduled by the school in advance, and not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of the student or of other students.  

The right to receive notice and an opportunity to opt-out does not apply to the collection, disclosure or use of personal information collected from students for the exclusive purpose of developing, evaluating or providing educational products or services for, or to, students or educational institutions, such as the following:  (i) college or other postsecondary education recruitment, or military recruitment; (ii) book clubs, magazines, and programs providing access to low-cost literary products; (iii) curriculum and instructional materials used by elementary and secondary students; (iv) tests and assessments used by elementary and secondary students to provide cognitive, evaluative, diagnostic, clinical, aptitude, or achievement information about students (or to generate other statistically useful data for the purpose of securing such tests and assessments) and the subsequent analysis and public release of the aggregate data from such tests and assessments; (v) the sale by students of products or services to raise funds for school-related or education-related activities; or (vi) student recognition programs.  

In addition, the opportunity to opt-out of physical examinations and/or screenings does not apply to physical exams or screenings for hearing, vision, or scoliosis, or any other physical examinations or screenings that are permitted or required by State law without parental notification.  

(iii) The right to inspect, upon request and before administration or use the following: 

1. Protected information surveys of students;

2. Any survey created by a third party; 

3. Instruments used to collect personal information from students for the purpose of marketing or selling that information; and 

4. Instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum for the student. 

Notification of Policies

The District has developed and adopted policies, in consultation with parents, regarding these rights, as well as arrangements to protect student privacy in the administration of protected information surveys and the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information for marketing, sales, or other distribution purposes.  The District’s Policy and Amplifying Guidelines and Instructions regarding the District’s compliance with the PPRA are available on the District’s website in the Board of Education Policies section. Paper and/or electronic copies of these materials are available upon request by contacting: Jilian Herrera, District Clerk, North Syracuse Central School District, 5355 West Taft Road, North Syracuse, NY 13212, (315) 218-2131. The District shall include information, annually, to coincide with the start of the school year, in the District’s August Dispatch, or comparable mailing or bulletin, about the continuing availability of these materials online and upon request, as set forth above.  If the District makes any substantive changes to the District’s PPRA Policy and/or  Amplifying Guidelines and Instructions, the District  shall provide an alert in a subsequent Dispatch, or comparable mailing or bulletin, about the changes and the availability of the revised PPRA Policy and/or Amplifying Guidelines and Instructions (as applicable) on the District’s website and by paper and/or electronic copies upon request.

Notification of Specific Events 

The District will directly (e.g., by mail or e-mail) notify parents and eligible students, at least annually at the start of each school year, of the specific or approximate dates during the school year  when the following specific activities, if known, pertaining to individual students and/or groups or classes of students are scheduled or expected to be scheduled. The District will provide parents  the opportunity to opt out their child from participation, and will likewise afford eligible students the opportunity to personally opt out from participation in: 

1. The collection, disclosure or use of personal information for marketing, sales or other distribution; 

2. The administration of any protected  information survey not funded in whole or in part by DOE; and

3. Any non-emergency, invasive physical examination or screening as described above. 

Parents and eligible students who believe their rights have been violated may file a complaint with: 

Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, Southwest, Washington, D.C. 20202

More information about your referral and evaluation rights can be obtained by contacting the District’s Executive Director of Pupil Personnel, the individual who is charged with processing special education referrals. Her contact information is as follows:

Valerie DiFlorio, Executive Director of Pupil Personnel, 5355 West Taft Road, North Syracuse, NY 13212. Phone: (315) 218-2144

You can also obtain more information about your referral and evaluation rights by reviewing Special Education in New York State for Children Ages 3-21: A Parent’s Guide, a publication of the New York State Education Department. 

An English version of this publication is available online at: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/parentsguide.pdf

A Spanish version of this publication is available online at: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/SpanishParentGuide.pdf