Following an inspection and review of a pupil’s records, the parent or guardian of a pupil or former pupil of a school district may challenge the content of any pupil record.

(a) The parent or guardian of a pupil may file a written request with the superintendent of the school district to correct or remove any information recorded in the pupil’s written records that the parent or guardian alleges to be any of the following:

(1) Inaccurate.

(2) An unsubstantiated personal conclusion or inference.

(3) A conclusion or inference outside of the observer’s area of competence.

(4) Not based on the personal observation of a named person with the time and place of the observation noted.

(5) Misleading.

(6) In violation of the privacy or other rights of the pupil.

(b) (1) Within 30 days of receipt of a request pursuant to subdivision (a), the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee shall meet with the parent or guardian and the certificated employee who recorded the information in question, if any, and if the employee is presently employed by the school district. The superintendent shall then sustain or deny the allegations.

(2) If the superintendent sustains any or all of the allegations, the superintendent shall order the correction or the removal and destruction of the information. However, in accordance with Section 49066, the superintendent shall not order a pupil’s grade to be changed unless the teacher who determined the grade is, to the extent practicable, given an opportunity to state orally, in writing, or both, the reasons for which the grade was given and is, to the extent practicable, included in all discussions relating to the changing of the grade.

(3) If the superintendent denies any or all of the allegations and refuses to order the correction or the removal of the information, the parent or guardian may, within 30 days of the refusal, appeal the decision in writing to the governing board of the school district.

(c) (1) Within 30 days of receipt of an appeal pursuant to subdivision (b), the governing board shall, in closed session with the parent or guardian and the certificated employee who recorded the information in question, if any, and if the employee is presently employed by the school district, determine whether or not to sustain or deny the allegations.

(2) If the governing board sustains any or all of the allegations, it shall order the superintendent to immediately correct or remove and destroy the information from the written records of the pupil, and inform the parent or guardian in writing. However, in accordance with Section 49066, the governing board shall not order a pupil’s grade to be changed unless the teacher who determined the grade is, to the extent practicable, given an opportunity to state orally, in writing, or both, the reasons for which the grade was given and is, to the extent practicable, included in all discussions relating to the changing of the grade.

(3) The decision of the governing board shall be final.

(4) Records of these administrative proceedings shall be maintained in a confidential manner and shall be destroyed one year after the decision of the governing board, unless the parent or guardian initiates legal proceedings relative to the disputed information within the prescribed period.

(5) (A) If the superintendent or governing board of the school district sustains the parent’s or guardian’s request to change the name, gender, or both, of a pupil or former pupil, the school district shall add a new document to the pupil’s or former pupil’s record that includes all of the following information:

(i) The date of the request.

(ii) The date the requested records were corrected.

(iii) A list of the records that the parent or guardian of the pupil or former pupil requested to be corrected.

(iv) The type of documentation, if any, provided by the parent or guardian of the pupil or former pupil to demonstrate a legal change to the pupil’s or former pupil’s name, gender, or both. The parent or guardian of the pupil or former pupil is not required to provide documentation of a legal change to the pupil’s or former pupil’s name, gender, or both.

(v) The name of the employee that completed the request.

(vi) The corrected and former names, genders, or both, of the pupil or former pupil.

(B) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), the document generated pursuant to subparagraph (A) regarding a parent’s or guardian’s request to change a pupil’s or former pupil’s name, gender, or both, shall be indefinitely maintained in a confidential manner.

(d) If the final decision of the governing board is unfavorable to the parent or guardian, or if the parent or guardian accepts an unfavorable decision by the superintendent of the school district, the parent or guardian shall be informed and shall have the right to submit a written statement of the parent’s or guardian’s objections to the information. This statement shall become a part of the pupil’s school record until the information objected to is corrected or removed.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 179, Sec. 2. (AB 711) Effective January 1, 2020.)