Annual Notifications

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows schools and districts to designate certain basic student information as “directory information.” This information may be shared without prior consent, provided the district meets required notification and opt-out procedures.

The primary purpose of directory information is to allow Bloomfield Hills Schools to include student information in school and district publications, both in print and digital formats. Examples include:

• Newsletters
• Newspaper or media coverage of student accomplishments
• Playbills and performance programs
• The annual yearbook
• Honor roll and recognition lists
• Graduation programs
• Athletic rosters or activity sheets (may include height and weight for team members)
• District websites and official social media platforms

Student Directory Information

The following items are designated by the Board of Education as directory information and may be released without prior written consent, unless a parent/guardian or eligible student opts out:

• Student name
• Student mailing address
• Telephone number
• Student photograph/video
• Student birth date and place of birth
• Participation in school-related programs and extracurricular activities
• Awards and honors
• Height and weight (for members of athletic teams)
• Dates of attendance 
• Date of graduation

Parents/guardians or eligible students may opt out of the disclosure of directory information during the annual registration process. If a full opt-out is selected, the District will not release any directory information for that student.

Each school building within the School District has been inspected for the presence of asbestos-containing materials as required by the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). A copy of the Building Inspection and Management Plan for each building is available in the building’s main office. The plans may be inspected by members of the public and by School District employees during normal business hours. A copy of the plan will be made available upon request for a nominal fee. 

The Board of Education has adopted a policy to provide students and staff with an environment that is free of pests, pesticides, and harmful chemicals to the extent required by law. The Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) includes routine inspections or surveys of all school facilities and various strategies to prevent pests from becoming a problem. Pesticides are used only as a last resort and parents will be notified prior to a pesticide application in a school building or on school grounds. 

The Board of Education recognizes that the misuse of drugs is a serious problem with legal, physical, and social implications for the entire school community. In accordance with the federal and state law, the Board establishes a “Drug-Free School Zone” that extends 1000 feet from the boundary of any school property. The Board prohibits the use, possession, concealment, delivery, or distribution of any drug or any drug-related paraphernalia, including alcohol and marijuana, at any time on School District property, within the Drug-Free Zone or at any School District-related event. Further, the Superintendent, or his/her designee, will take the necessary steps to ensure that an individual eighteen (18) years of age or older who knowingly delivers or distributes controlled substances so designated and prohibited by Michigan statute within the Drug-Free School Zone to another person is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 

The School District, in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, will ensure that homeless children and youth in transition have access to a free and appropriate public education, including preschool, and be given a full opportunity to participate in state and District-wide assessments and accountability systems. A student may be considered eligible for services if he/she is presently living:

• Sharing the housing of other people due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or campgrounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
• Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
• Abandoned in hospitals;
• Living in a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
• Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; or
• Living in a migratory situation and who qualify as homeless because of living circumstances as described above.

The Board of Education has designated Cassandra Jones as the School District’s Coordinator under the Homeless Assistance Act. For questions or assistance, please contact the Cassandra Jones, Social Worker and District McKinney-Vento Liaison at 248-341-5629.

Parents have the right to inspect, upon request, any instructional material used as part of the School District’s educational curriculum. Parents will be provided access to instructional materials within a reasonable period of time after the request is received by the building principal. The term “instructional material” means instructional content that is provided to a student, regardless of its format, including printed and representational materials, audio-visual materials, and materials in electronic or digital formats (such as materials accessible through the Internet). The term does not include academic tests or assessments.

The Board acknowledges the need for a reasonable degree of in-school storage of student possessions and will provide storage places, including desks and lockers, for that purpose. Where lockers are provided, students may lock them to prevent other students from accessing the locker, but lockers remain School District property.  Students do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to School District personnel or their designees in lockers or other in-school storage places provided by the School District.

The Board also authorizes the use of canines, trained in detecting the presence of drugs or devices.  Canines are used to determine the presence of drugs in locker areas and other places where such substances may be concealed. Canine detection is usually conducted in collaboration with law enforcement authorities or other certified organizations and is not used to search individual students without legally sufficient suspicion, a warrant, or parental permission has been obtained.

School authorities are authorized to take reasonable steps to safeguard the safety and well-being of the students by, among other things, implementing the School District’s Student Code of Conduct. Within the discharge of their responsibilities, School District personnel may search students, student property, and school property in the manner permitted by law.

The School District is required, by law, to locate, identify and evaluate all children with disabilities, including children with disabilities attending private schools located within the School District, as well as homeless children. The process of locating, identifying, and evaluating children with disabilities is known as child find.

Child find extends both to children who may be eligible for special education under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and those who may be eligible under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).

The Personal Curriculum (PC) is a Michigan Department of Education (MDE)- endorsed process that permits modification of specific credit requirements and/or content expectations based on a student's individual learning needs. It is designed to serve students who want to accelerate or go beyond the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) requirements, as well as those who need to individualize learning to meet the MMC requirements. For more information from MDE about personal curriculum, please click here. To the extent required by law, the School District will grant all requests for a personal curriculum.

The Personal Curriculum (PC) is a Michigan Department of Education (MDE)- endorsed process that permits modification of specific credit requirements and/or content expectations based on a student's individual learning needs. It is designed to serve students who want to accelerate or go beyond the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) requirements, as well as those who need to individualize learning to meet the MMC requirements. For more information from MDE about personal curriculum, please click here. To the extent required by law, the School District will grant all requests for a personal curriculum.

Student Privacy and Parental Access to Information

Under the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) and School District policy, no student will be required as a part of the school program or the School District’s curriculum, without prior parental consent, to submit to or participate in any survey, analysis or evaluation that reveals information concerning:

• Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or his/her parents;
• Mental or psychological problems of the student or his/her family;
• Sexual behavior or attitudes;
• Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
• Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom students have close family relationships;
• Legally-recognized privileged and analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;
• Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or his/her parents; or
• Income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such a program).

This requirement also applies to the collection, disclosure, or use of student information for marketing purposes (“marketing surveys”), and certain physical examinations and screenings.

Parents have the right to inspect, upon request, a survey or evaluation created by a third party before the survey/evaluation is administered or distributed by the school to the student. The parent will be given access to the survey/evaluation within a reasonable period of time after the request is received by the building principal.

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

Student Privacy Policy Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC  20202

Eastover Elementary School within Bloomfield Hills Schools receives Title I funding. The School District is committed to establishing and maintaining positive relationships with families and the community. To that end, the School District will provide a variety of opportunities for families and other members of the community to become involved in children’s education.  

Parents may request information regarding the professional qualifications of the student's classroom teachers in writing submitted to HR. The request may include:

• Whether the teacher has met Michigan qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which s/he provides instruction;
• Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived;
• The teacher’s baccalaureate degree(s), major, any other graduate certification or degree(s) held, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree; and
• Whether the student is provided services by a paraprofessional and, if so, the paraprofessional’s qualifications.

Parents/guardians of limited English proficient (LEP) students participating in a language instruction program will be notified, no later than 30 days after the beginning of the school year, of the following:

• The reason for the identification and need for placement of the student as EL;
• The student’s level of English language proficiency, how the student was assessed and the status of achievement;
• The method(s) of instruction that will be used to increase language proficiency and the methods of instruction used in other available programs, including how the programs differ;
• How the EL program will meet the strengths and needs of the child and how the EL program will help their child learn English and meet state standards;
• The exit requirements for the program and the expected rate of transition to a classroom not tailored for ELs, and expected rate of HS graduation;
• How the program meets the needs of an EL with disabilities in an IEP
• The parent’s right to refuse service or choose another program; and
• That the EL must continue to participate in the ELP annual assessment if the parent refuses EL service(s).

The School District is committed to creating a school environment that enhances lifelong wellness practices.  As required by law, the Board has adopted a Wellness Policy, which is periodically reviewed. The Board’s policies and/or administrative regulations can be found here.

In the absence of an emergency or an IEP or Section 504 plan, the School District does not provide physical examinations and screenings on school premises. In the event the School District does provide physical examinations and screenings, parents may opt-out their student from participation by sending the request, in writing, to their student’s building principal, or by submitting this Physical Examinations and Screenings Opt-Out Form.

Title IX Coordinators
7273 Wing Lake Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301

Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Information Guide

Title IX Coordinators oversee the district's Title IX compliance and are also a district employee:

• Joe Duda, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Title IX Compliance Officer - (248) 341-5428

Title IX Training Documentation

Stormwater Management Program Plan

Stormwater Public Education and Links

Any questions, comments, or suggestions related to BHS SWMP can be directed to Ken Vavruska at kvavruska@bloomfield.org.

Public Notice Document - Bloomfield Hills PS MS4-Oakland

Information is available here if you would like to find out how you can help protect our waterways

Schools are required to comply with the Clean Drinking Water Access Act, and child care centers must comply with amendments to the Child Care Organizations Act. Collectively, these requirements are known as Michigan’s “Filter First” laws. These laws apply to all K–12 public and nonpublic schools, as well as licensed child care centers. When a child care center operates within a school, the school is responsible for ensuring that all rooms occupied by the child care program are included in Filter First compliance efforts.

To meet the requirements of the Clean Drinking Water Access Act, the district has developed a Drinking Water Management Plan (DWMP), which includes:

• Identification of all consumptive fixtures (fixtures used for drinking or food preparation, including rinsing fruits and vegetables, preparing beverages, or making infant formula)
• Verification that each consumptive fixture is equipped with a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 (lead reduction) and NSF/ANSI 42 (particulate reduction)
• Identification of all non-consumptive fixtures (fixtures not intended for drinking or food preparation)
• Identification of fixtures that will be shut off or permanently rendered inoperable
• A schedule for annual sampling and testing of filtered water at each bottle-filling station and filtered faucet

The Drinking Water Management Plan is available upon request.

In addition, signage is posted at all fixtures to clearly indicate whether the fixture is intended for consumptive use.

Filter First Sampling Requirements

(State Timeline Pending)
Under Michigan’s Filter First requirements, each filtered water fixture must be sampled annually through the installed filter. Sampling will occur following a minimum 8-hour stagnation period, as required.

Sampling will begin once the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) establishes and communicates the official statewide timeline.