School Law Presentation Amy Ellis 4/19/12

Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (also called the Buckley Amendment) A federal statutory law enacted by Congress in 1974 in response to litigation over privacy of written student records Applies to all schools receiving federal funding from US Department of Education Parents have full rights to child’s educational record until they turn 18 or attend school beyond high school

Positives: o A way to protect students’ and their families’ rights regarding the privacy and accuracy of their educational records o Gives parents & students the right to review records for accuracy Negatives/Points of Contention: o What constitutes an educational record? o Who should have access to the records, and under what circumstances? (health or safety situations, the media, etc.)

Personally identifiable information directly related to the student Can include: Final grades Student files Photographs Transcripts

Private notes of individual staff or faculty regarding a student (that are NOT kept in student advising folders) Campus police records Medical records Statistical data with no mention of personally identifiable information about specific students

1) Directory Information 2) Non-Directory Information

Information that can be released without specific written permission from the student, (except in certain cases specified by the regulations). Most are data that would not be generally considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed, including information such as name, address, major field of study, etc. Examples include: Name Address (local and permanent) Telephone number University address Date and place of birth Major field of study

Any information not explicitly classified as directory information Unable to be released to third parties except with student’s written consent (except under strictly defined conditions, including health/safety cases) Examples include: Class schedule Disciplinary status Ethnicity Gender Grade point average (GPA) Social security number/student ID Grades/exam scores Test scores (SAT, ACT, GRE, final exams, etc.)

With the knowledge you now have about FERPA, read the New York Times article excerpt and consider the following: What do you think the ruling should be? Why? What do you think the actual ruling was in this case?

Universities often use FERPA to avoid public scrutiny for their actions Example: colleges withholding disciplinary violations of an athlete to suit their own purposes, but using FERPA as an excuse FERPA in the News Duke Lacrosse Case St. Joe’s Todd O’Brien Basketball Case (no legal action yet, but highly publicized)

As you read the following two case studies with another classmate, please consider the following: What do you think the ruling was? Why?

Department of Education proposed amendments to expand FERPA’s exemptions, making it easier for other representatives to access student records Mixed opinion on this— Some feel this will improve needed access to data, which will help inform States’ future educational programs and increase accountability and transparency Others feel this will expose students to new privacy risks, setting a dangerous precedent and running counter to the original purpose of FERPA: to protect students’ privacy

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