FERPA
20 USC Sec. 1232g 01/06/97
TITLE 20 – EDUCATION
CHAPTER 31 – GENERAL PROVISIONS
CONCERNING EDUCATION
SUBCHAPTER III – GENERAL
REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS CONCERNING OPERATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF
EDUCATION PROGRAMS: GENERAL AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY
Part 4 – Records; Privacy;
Limitation on Withholding Federal Funds
Sec. 1232g. Family educational and privacy rights
–STATUTE–
(a) Conditions for availability of
funds to educational agencies or institutions; inspection and review of
education records; specific information to be made available; procedure for
access to education records; reasonableness of time for such access; hearings;
written explanations by parents; definitions
(1)(A) No
funds shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational
agency or institution which has a policy of denying, or which effectively
prevents, the parents of students who are or have been in attendance at a
school of such agency or at such institution, as the case may be, the right to
inspect and review the education records of their children. If any
material or document in the education record of a student includes information
on more than one student, the parents of one of such students shall have the right
to inspect and review only such part of such material or document as relates to
such student or to be informed of the specific information contained in such
part of such material. Each educational agency or institution shall
establish appropriate procedures for the granting of a request by parents for
access to the education records of their children within a reasonable period of
time, but in no case more than forty-five days after the request has been made.
(B) No funds
under any applicable program shall be made available to any State educational
agency (whether or not that agency is an educational agency or institution
under this section) that has a policy of denying, or effectively prevents, the
parents of students the right to inspect and review the education records
maintained by the State educational agency on their children who are or have
been in attendance at any school of an educational agency or institution that
is subject to the provisions of this section.
(C) The
first sentence of subparagraph (A) shall not operate to make available to
students in institutions of postsecondary education the following materials:
(i) financial records of the
parents of the student or any information contained therein;
(ii)
confidential letters and statements of recommendation, which were placed in the
education records prior to January 1, 1975, if such letters or statements are
not used for purposes other than those for which they were specifically
intended;
(iii) if the student has signed a waiver of the student's right of
access under this subsection in accordance with subparagraph (D), confidential
recommendations –
(I)
respecting admission to any educational agency or institution,
(II) respecting an application for employment, and
(III) respecting the receipt of an honor or honorary recognition.
(D) A
student or a person applying for admission may waive his right of access to
confidential statements described in clause (iii) of subparagraph (C), except
that such waiver shall apply to recommendations only if (i)
the student is, upon request, notified of the names of all persons making
confidential recommendations and (ii) such recommendations are used solely for
the purpose for which they were specifically intended. Such waivers may
not be required as a condition for admission to, receipt of financial aid from,
or receipt of any other services or benefits from such agency or institution.
(2) No funds
shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational agency
or institution unless the parents of students who are or have been in
attendance at a school of such agency or at such institution are provided an
opportunity for a hearing by such agency or institution, in accordance with
regulations of the Secretary, to challenge the content of such student's education
records, in order to insure that the records are not inaccurate, misleading, or
otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of students, and to provide an
opportunity for the correction or deletion of any such inaccurate, misleading
or otherwise inappropriate data contained therein and to insert into such
records a written explanation of the parents respecting the content of such
records.
(3) For the
purposes of this section the term "educational agency or institution"
means any public or private agency or institution which is the recipient of
funds under any applicable program.
(4)(A) For
the purposes of this section, the term "education records" means,
except as may be provided otherwise in subparagraph (B), those records, files,
documents, and other materials which –
(i) contain information directly
related to a student; and
(ii) are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by
a person acting for such agency or institution.
(B) The term
"education records" does not include –
(i) records of instructional,
supervisory, and administrative personnel and educational personnel ancillary
thereto which are in the sole possession of the maker thereof and which are not
accessible or revealed to any other person except a substitute;
(ii) records maintained by a law enforcement unit of the
educational agency or institution that were created by that law enforcement
unit for the purpose of law enforcement;
(iii) in the
case of persons who are employed by an educational agency or institution but
who are not in attendance at such agency or institution, records made and
maintained in the normal course of business which relate exclusively to such
person in that person's capacity as an employee and are not available for use
for any other purpose; or
(iv) records
on a student who is eighteen years of age or older, or is attending an
institution of postsecondary education, which are made or maintained by a
physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or
paraprofessional acting in his professional or paraprofessional capacity, or
assisting in that capacity, and which are made, maintained, or used only in
connection with the provision of treatment to the student, and are not
available to anyone other than persons providing such treatment, except that
such records can be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate
professional of the student's choice.
(5)(A) For
the purposes of this section the term "directory information"
relating to a student includes the following: the student's name, address,
telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation
in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of
athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the most
recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.
(B) Any
educational agency or institution making public directory information shall
give public notice of the categories of information which it has designated as
such information with respect to each student attending the institution or
agency and shall allow a reasonable period of time after such notice has been
given for a parent to inform the institution or agency that any or all of the
information designated should not be released without the parent's prior
consent.
(6) For the
purposes of this section, the term "student" includes any person with
respect to whom an educational agency or institution maintains education
records or personally identifiable information, but does not include a person
who has not been in attendance at such agency or institution.
(b) Release
of education records; parental consent requirement; exceptions; compliance with
judicial orders and subpoenas; audit and evaluation of federally-supported education
programs; recordkeeping
(1) No funds
shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational agency
or institution which has a policy or practice of permitting the release of
education records (or personally identifiable information contained therein
other than directory information, as defined in paragraph (5) of subsection (a)
of this section) of students without the written consent of their parents to
any individual, agency, or organization, other than to the following –
(A) other school officials, including teachers within the
educational institution or local educational agency, who have been determined
by such agency or institution to have legitimate educational interests,
including the educational interests of the child for whom consent would
otherwise be required;
(B)
officials of other schools or school systems in which the student seeks or
intends to enroll, upon condition that the student's parents be notified of the
transfer, receive a copy of the record if desired, and have an opportunity for
a hearing to challenge the content of the record;
(C) authorized representatives of (i)
the Comptroller General of the United States, (ii) the Secretary, or (iii)
State educational authorities, under the conditions set forth in paragraph (3)
of this subsection;
(D) in connection with a student's application for, or receipt
of, financial aid;
(E) State
and local officials or authorities to whom such information is specifically
allowed to be reported or disclosed pursuant to State statute adopted –
(i) before November 19, 1974, if the allowed reporting or
disclosure concerns the juvenile justice system and such system's ability to
effectively serve the student whose records are released, or
(ii) after November 19, 1974, if –
(I) the allowed
reporting or disclosure concerns the juvenile justice system and such system's
ability to effectively serve, prior to adjudication, the student whose records
are released; and
(II) the
officials and authorities to whom such information is disclosed certify in
writing to the educational agency or institution that the information will not
be disclosed to any other party except as provided under State law without the
prior written consent of the parent of the student. (FOOTNOTE 1)
(FOOTNOTE 1)
So in original. The period probably should be a
semicolon.
(F)
organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or
institutions for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering
predictive tests, administering student aid programs, and improving
instruction, if such studies are conducted in such a manner as will not permit
the personal identification of students and their parents by persons other than
representatives of such organizations and such information will be destroyed when
no longer needed for the purpose for which it is conducted;
(G) accrediting organizations in order to carry out their
accrediting functions;
(H) parents of a dependent student of such parents, as defined
in section 152 of title 26;
(I) subject
to regulations of the Secretary, in connection with an emergency, appropriate
persons if the knowledge of such information is necessary to protect the health
or safety of the student or other persons; and
(J)(i) the entity or persons designated in a Federal grand jury
subpoena, in which case the court shall order, for good cause shown, the
educational agency or institution (and any officer, director, employee, agent,
or attorney for such agency or institution) on which the subpoena is served, to
not disclose to any person the existence or contents of the subpoena or any
information furnished to the grand jury in response to the subpoena; and
(ii) the
entity or persons designated in any other subpoena issued for a law enforcement
purpose, in which case the court or other issuing agency may order, for good
cause shown, the educational agency or institution (and any officer, director,
employee, agent, or attorney for such agency or institution) on which the
subpoena is served, to not disclose to any person the existence or contents of
the subpoena or any information furnished in response to the subpoena.
Nothing in clause (E) of this paragraph shall prevent a State from
further limiting the number or type of State or local officials who will
continue to have access thereunder.
(2) No funds
shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational agency
or institution which has a policy or practice of releasing, or providing access
to, any personally identifiable information in education records other than
directory information, or as is permitted under paragraph (1) of this
subsection, unless –
(A) there is
written consent from the student's parents specifying records to be released,
the reasons for such release, and to whom, and with a copy of the records to be
released to the student's parents and the student if desired by the parents, or
(B) except
as provided in paragraph (1)(J), such information is furnished in compliance
with judicial order, or pursuant to any lawfully issued subpoena, upon
condition that parents and the students are notified of all such orders or
subpoenas in advance of the compliance therewith by the educational institution
or agency.
(3) Nothing
contained in this section shall preclude authorized representatives of (A) the
Comptroller General of the United States, (B) the Secretary, or (C) State
educational authorities from having access to student or other records which
may be necessary in connection with the audit and evaluation of Federally-supported
education programs, or in connection with the enforcement of the Federal legal
requirements which relate to such programs: Provided, That except when
collection of personally identifiable information is specifically authorized by
Federal law, any data collected by such officials shall be protected in a
manner which will not permit the personal identification of students and their
parents by other than those officials, and such personally identifiable data
shall be destroyed when no longer needed for such audit, evaluation, and
enforcement of Federal legal requirements.
(4)(A) Each
educational agency or institution shall maintain a record, kept with the
education records of each student, which will indicate all individuals (other
than those specified in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection), agencies, or
organizations which have requested or obtained access to a student's education
records maintained by such educational agency or institution, and which will
indicate specifically the legitimate interest that each such person, agency, or
organization has in obtaining this information. Such record of access
shall be available only to parents, to the school official and his assistants
who are responsible for the custody of such records, and to persons or organizations
authorized in, and under the conditions of, clauses (A) and (C) of paragraph
(1) as a means of auditing the operation of the system.
(B) With
respect to this subsection, personal information shall only be transferred to a
third party on the condition that such party will not permit any other party to
have access to such information without the written consent of the parents of
the student. If a third party outside the educational agency or
institution permits access to information in violation of paragraph (2)(A), or
fails to destroy information in violation of paragraph (1)(F), the educational
agency or institution shall be prohibited from permitting access to information
from education records to that third party for a period of not less than five
years.
(5) Nothing
in this section shall be construed to prohibit State and local educational
officials from having access to student or other records which may be necessary
in connection with the audit and evaluation of any federally or State supported
education program or in connection with the enforcement of the Federal legal
requirements which relate to any such program, subject to the conditions
specified in the proviso in paragraph (3).
(6) Nothing
in this section shall be construed to prohibit an institution of postsecondary
education from disclosing, to an alleged victim of any crime of violence (as
that term is defined in section 16 of title 18), the results of any
disciplinary proceeding conducted by such institution against the alleged perpetrator
of such crime with respect to such crime.
(c) Surveys
or data-gathering activities; regulations Not later than 240 days after
October 20, 1994, the Secretary shall adopt appropriate regulations or
procedures, or identify existing regulations or procedures, which protect the
rights of privacy of students and their families in connection with any surveys
or data-gathering activities conducted, assisted, or authorized by the
Secretary or an administrative head of an education agency. Regulations
established under this subsection shall include provisions controlling the use,
dissemination, and protection of such data. No survey or data-gathering
activities shall be conducted by the Secretary, or an administrative head of an
education agency under an applicable program, unless such activities are
authorized by law.
(d)
Students' rather than parents' permission or consent For the purposes of
this section, whenever a student has attained eighteen years of age, or is
attending an institution of postsecondary education, the permission or consent
required of and the rights accorded to the parents of the student shall
thereafter only be required of and accorded to the student.
(e)
Informing parents or students of rights under this section No funds
shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational agency
or institution unless such agency or institution effectively informs the
parents of students, or the students, if they are eighteen years of age or
older, or are attending an institution of postsecondary education, of the
rights accorded them by this section.
(f)
Enforcement; termination of assistance The Secretary shall take
appropriate actions to enforce this section and to deal with violations of this
section, in accordance with this chapter, except that action to terminate
assistance may be taken only if the Secretary finds there has been a failure to
comply with this section, and he has determined that compliance cannot be
secured by voluntary means.
(g) Office
and review board; creation; functions The Secretary shall establish or
designate an office and review board within the Department for the purpose of
investigating, processing, reviewing, and adjudicating violations of this
section and complaints which may be filed concerning alleged violations of this
section. Except for the conduct of hearings, none of the functions of the
Secretary under this section shall be carried out in any of the regional
offices of such Department.
(h)
Disciplinary records; disclosure Nothing in this section shall prohibit
an educational agency or institution from –
(1)
including appropriate information in the education record of any student
concerning disciplinary action taken against such student for conduct that
posed a significant risk to the safety or well-being of that student, other
students, or other members of the school community; or
(2) disclosing such information to teachers and school
officials, including teachers and school officials in other schools, who have
legitimate educational interests in the behavior of the student.
–SOURCE–
(Pub. L. 90-247, title IV, Sec. 444, formerly Sec. 438, as added Pub. L. 93-380, title V, Sec. 513(a), Aug. 21, 1974, 88 Stat. 571; amended Pub. L. 93-568,
Sec. 2(a), Dec. 31, 1974, 88 Stat. 1858; Pub. L. 96-46,
Sec. 4(c), Aug. 6, 1979, 93 Stat. 342; Pub. L.
101-542, title II, Sec. 203, Nov. 8, 1990, 104 Stat. 2385; Pub. L. 102-325,
title XV, Sec. 1555(a), July 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 840;
renumbered Sec. 444 and amended Pub. L. 103-382, title II, Sec. 212(b)(1), 249, 261(h), Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3913, 3924,
3928.)
This document may also be found on the
U.S. House of Representatives web site.
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