BLOUNT COUNTY, ALABAMA · TRANSGENDER STUDENTS & SCHOOL POLICY
Blount County, Alabama
Alabama’s School Disclosure Law and Student-Records Rules Raise Different Questions
For Blount County families, the state’s school-personnel provision, the district’s records policy and federal privacy rules have distinct scopes and age thresholds.
Sources reviewed
The school provision dates to 2022
Alabama’s Code §26-26-5 addresses school staff withholding information from parents about a student’s perception of gender or sex. It originated in Act 2022-289. It is separate from Blount County Schools’ published procedures for accessing education records.
The enrolled law names nurses, counselors, teachers, principals and other administrative officials at public or private schools attended by a minor. It prohibits encouraging or coercing a minor to withhold from a parent or legal guardian what the law describes as a perception of gender or sex inconsistent with the minor’s sex. It also prohibits those personnel from withholding related information from the parent or guardian.
The text does not set a notification form or deadline
Section 5 does not specify a 24-hour notice deadline, an email template or a particular disclosure form. The provision’s text also does not establish that a disclosure occurred at any Blount County school.
The law incorporates the definition of minor in §43-8-1: a person under 19. That threshold differs from FERPA’s rules for transferring education-record rights to students. This report describes the published provisions; it does not resolve how they apply to an individual student or a disputed disclosure.
FERPA governs education records at covered schools
The federal FERPA regulations generally define education records as records directly related to a student and maintained by a school or a party acting for it, with specified exclusions. The regulations apply to institutions receiving covered U.S. Department of Education funding.
Rights transfer from parents when a student turns 18 or attends a postsecondary institution. FERPA generally requires consent before disclosing personally identifiable information from education records, but it contains exceptions. Its rules expressly allow some disclosures to parents of eligible students when the relevant exception’s conditions are met. Age alone therefore does not settle every records request.
Blount County directs records questions to principals
The county district’s Policy 05.17, Student Records, lists May 29, 2009 as its last revision and review. It directs records questions to the principal and describes requests to inspect records, seek amendments and challenge information through a hearing.
Its FERPA notice says a parent or eligible student should identify the requested records in writing and that access must be provided within 45 days. That is a records-access period, not a gender-identity notification deadline. The policy also describes consent requirements and circumstances permitting disclosure without consent.
No individual student or local dispute is identified
The documents reviewed do not establish a new Blount County rule, a particular student’s gender identity or a local complaint. The 2009 records-policy date and 2022 state-law date should not be confused with this article’s October 2026 publication.
Families seeking an explanation of their own records can request the current policy and applicable procedure from their school. Oneonta City Schools operates separately from Blount County Schools. Our district guide provides the two systems’ official starting points. Questions about conflicting requirements or a specific disclosure require an assessment of the actual facts and applicable law.
Sources and reporting
Document-based reporting from the enrolled state law, published code, federal regulations and local records policy. We reviewed the state law’s school provision and incorporated age definition separately from its medical-treatment provisions. No student identity, local disclosure, complaint, new board action or individual legal outcome was established. The article does not resolve a potential conflict between state and federal requirements.
- Alabama Legislature: enrolled SB184, sections 3 and 52022 enrolled law; relevant pages visually reviewed October 19, 2026
- Justia: Alabama Code §26-26-5, school-personnel provision2025 code edition; reviewed October 19, 2026
- Justia: Alabama Code §43-8-1, definition of minor2025 code edition; reviewed October 19, 2026
- U.S. Department of Education: FERPA regulations, 34 CFR Part 99Sections 99.1, 99.3, 99.5 and disclosure framework reviewed October 19, 2026
- Blount County Schools: Policy 05.17, Student RecordsLast revised and reviewed May 29, 2009; browser-reviewed October 19, 2026