Legal FAQ's for District Employees
Can the District donate District-owned property to individuals, organizations or entities?
The Texas Constitution prohibits the District from donating District-owned property to persons or organizations. There are no known constitutional or statutory exceptions that allow the District to donate its property. Therefore, the District does not have the authority to donate the computers to the assistance organization. If the District has the ability to contract to sell the computers to the assistance organization, certain constitutional tests must be satisfied before the sale can occur. Finally, District policy and state procurement procedures currently require alternate means of disposing of surplus property.
Can District staff sponsor or engage in gambling activities?
The State of Texas prohibits gambling and in particular, prohibits any type of gambling activity on governmental property. The Attorney General has issued several opinions over the past few years regarding the ability of governmental entities to hold “casino nights”, poker tournaments, and various other contests. In each opinion, the Attorney General has consistently opined that these types of activities are considered gambling and are therefore prohibited.
Under FERPA, does a parent have the right to request their child’s (student) record?
Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.
Do parents have the right to request that a school correct records?
Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.
Are Student Records subject to the Open Records Act?
Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):
School officials with legitimate educational interest;
Other schools to which a student is transferring;
Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
Accrediting organizations;
To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.
Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.
HIPPA: Does the Distrtic comply with HIPPA Guidelines?
Although Lone Star College System is not the type of organization that is covered by HIPAA, we have implemented a few procedures so we can continue to assist you understand or resolve the handling of a claim with ERS or to facilitate certain internal benefits that require the provision some medical information.
1. At the request of ERS, the HRMs and benefits staff will ask you to complete an authorization form before you discuss with them any medical condition, or send to them information about your treatments or medical conditions that are contained in medical billings, explanation of benefits (EOB) forms or evidence of insurability (EOI) forms. This form is attached to this email and can also be found at the General Counsel website http://www.lonestar.edu/l.cfm?id=13706 accessed through “Legal Information”. As soon s we can, we will link this same information to the HR website.
2. We will also need to have you complete an authorization form as part of the processes for considering requests for accommodation for disabilities, approval of family medical, short term disability and long term disability leave, or referral for a fitness for duty exam. In each of these processes, the human resources staff will only request information that is necessary to administer these benefits. Although information collected or reviewed by Lone Star College System as part of these processes is not protected by HIPAA, the confidentiality of this medical information is protected by the privacy provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. Any information we receive about your medical condition or treatments are maintained locked files at System Office, separate from all other personnel information. In order to ensure that such information is not shared with persons who do not need to know, we are asking that you direct all such information directly to Cristina Patetta, the System Office benefits coordinator.
3. Please understand that ERS had informed the Human Resources Managers (HRMs) that they will not accept or respond to requests made by the HRM on your behalf, including to obtain a status report on your evidence of insurability (EOI) form, medical claims or application for long term disability. The HRMs can and will counsel you regarding how and what to send to ERS, and will be able to join you on a telephone call as you speak to ERS.
What is the difference between an independent contractor and an employee?
According to the IRS the difference between an IC and an Employee is, that an Employee is under direct control of the Employer, where as an independent contractor is only under an order to achieve a particular goal, but under his/her own “direction” or “means”.