Student Services Record Retention
Student Services
Special Education Records Retention
Need Student Records?
Submit a request for special education or Section 504 records.
Related Pages
Notice of Destruction of Special Education Records
Bainbridge Island School District keeps special education records for each student who is evaluated for or receives special education services. Once those records are no longer needed to provide educational services, and the required retention period has passed, the district may destroy them. Before records are destroyed, parents and adult students have the opportunity to request a copy.
Records Scheduled for Destruction
Special education records for students who left special education services or the district are destroyed 6 years after the students services ends or leaves the district.
If you would like a copy, please contact the Special Services office before this window of time passes. Records not requested by then will be destroyed.
How Long Records Are Kept
| Student | Records Are Kept |
|---|---|
| Eligible for special education and has left services or the district | 6 years after the student leaves |
| Evaluated and found not eligible for special education | 5 years |
Why You May Want a Copy
Special education records can be helpful later in life. For example, they may be needed when applying for Social Security benefits, vocational rehabilitation services or accommodations in college or other post-secondary programs.
How to Request Records
- Contact the Special Services office at 206-842-2907, or use the Email link on this page.
- Requests may be made by a parent or guardian, or by the student if they are 18 or older.
- Please include the student’s full name, date of birth, last school attended and the years the student attended BISD.
Ongoing Notice
When a student leaves special education services, the district will notify parents that the student’s special education records are no longer needed to provide educational services and will be destroyed after the retention period listed above. Parents and adult students may request a copy at any time before the records are destroyed.
Washington State Requirement
“Each school district shall inform parents and adult students when personally identifiable information collected, maintained, or used in compliance with this chapter is no longer needed to provide educational services to the student, or is no longer required to be retained under state or federal law. State procedures for school district records retention are published by the secretary of state, division of archives and records management, and specify the length of time that education records must be retained.” (WAC 392-172A-05235)
Learn more about public records retention from Washington State Archives.