School Law Presentation Amy Ellis 4/19/12. Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (also called the...
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School Law Presentation Amy Ellis 4/19/12. Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (also called the Buckley Amendment) A federal statutory law enacted by
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 childs
educational record until they turn 18 or attend school beyond high
school
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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.)
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Personally identifiable information directly related to the
student Can include: Final grades Student files Photographs
Transcripts
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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
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1) Directory Information 2) Non-Directory Information
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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 e-mail address Date and place of birth Major
field of study
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Any information not explicitly classified as directory
information Unable to be released to third parties except with
students 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.)
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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?
Slide 10
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. Joes Todd OBrien
Basketball Case (no legal action yet, but highly publicized)
Slide 11
As you read the following two case studies with another
classmate, please consider the following: What do you think the
ruling was? Why?
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Department of Education proposed amendments to expand FERPAs
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