District Records Requests

For Comal ISD families interested in requesting student records, please carefully review the request options below.

Records Request forms include Public Information Act, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA-General Student Records), and Special Education FERPA and Student Records.

Public Information Act (PIA) Request

Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives the public the right to access government records. To request information from Comal ISD, please contact:

Christina Eckert

Chief Communications Officer

Comal ISD
1404 Interstate 35 North
New Braunfels, Texas 78130

By fax:
830.221.2001

PIA Request Process

Purpose: To promote government transparency by giving the general public access to public records. The district does charge a fee to produce records under the PIA. Comal ISD’s current redaction labor rate is $15.00 per hour to locate, compile and physically redact confidential information from the records plus a 20% overhead charge. Additionally, if the requestor is provided with copies, the requestor will be billed $.10 per page. If the total cost of completing the work to fulfill a request exceeds $100.00, the district will require a deposit before processing the request.

Who can access: Anyone (citizens, media, corporations, researchers).

Access what: General district records, emails, or data. Student PII is strictly redacted by law.

Timeline: Up to 10 calendar days to comply.

**FERPA is federal law, while the PIA is state law. Under the Supremacy Clause, FERPA completely pre-empts the PIA. If a member of the public files a PIA request for a record that contains student information, the district cannot release the student's personally identifiable information, as doing so would violate federal law and jeopardize the district's federal funding.**

**Under Texas Government Code § 552.114 (and historical OAG Open Records Decisions), a Texas school district can automatically redact FERPA-protected student records from a PIA request without requesting an attorney general opinion.**

**Comal ISD does not have an internal police department. All campus SRO’s are employed by their respective police agencies and are not employees of Comal ISD. Additionally, Comal ISD does not maintain any law enforcement records.**

FERPA Video/Student Records Request

FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to inspect and review their child’s records and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records.

Once a request has been submitted, Comal ISD has 45 days to respond. All requests will be researched to see if the record exists. Please be aware that not every request may produce a record. If the record does exist, Comal ISD is not required to provide a copy. An appointment will be made with you, within the 45 days, to review and inspect requested records that exist at Support Services (1404 IH 35 North).

FERPA Request Process

Purpose: To protect student privacy while giving parents/eligible students access to their own files.

Who can access: Only parents or students who are 18 or older ("eligible students") are allowed to inspect and review or be informed of what is in the educational student record.

Access what: Un-redacted, personally identifiable information (PII) specific only to their child/student. The information or document sought must be a record already created and maintained by the educational institution. This can include directly related student records such as discipline files, 504 documents, ARD/IEP paperwork, grades, attendance, etc.

Timeline: Up to 45 calendar days to comply.

Special Education Student Records & FERPA Requests: What You Need to Know

Comal ISD is committed to maintaining the highest standards of privacy and transparency regarding your student’s educational journey. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and grants parents and students eligible for special education services (those 18 or older) specific rights to access those records.

Once a request has been submitted, a follow up email will be sent with additional instructions to fulfill all requests.

What is a FERPA Records Request?

What a FERPA Request is NOT Used For

A FERPA request is used by a parent or students eligible for special education services to review, inspect, or request copies of personally identifiable educational records maintained directly by the school district.

Examples of valid FERPA requests include:

Report cards, progress reports, and official transcripts.
Attendance records and enrollment history.
Disciplinary records and behavior reports involving your specific student.
Special education records, including IEPs or 504 plans.

Note: The district may charge a reasonable fee for copies of records, unless the fee effectively prevents a parent or eligible student from exercising their right to inspect and review the records.

FERPA is designed strictly for a family's access to their own student's private educational data. It is not an avenue for general information gathering, public data collection, or seeking documents unrelated to an individual student's academic record.

A FERPA request cannot be used for:

General District Information: Requests for school board minutes, district budgets, employee emails, curriculum materials, or vendor contracts do not fall under FERPA. These must be requested through a standard Public Information Act.
Information About Other Students: To protect the privacy of all families, you cannot use FERPA to access the grades, behavioral records, or personal information of any student other than your own.
Creating New Records: FERPA only applies to existing records maintained by the district. It cannot be used to force staff to create new documents, compile statistics, or answer essays/surveys.
Challenging Grades or Policies: While FERPA allows you to request a correction if an education record is inaccurate or misleading, it is not the proper channel to contest a teacher's grading decisions, disciplinary actions, or general school policies.