Section 6.9 Student Records

• Library: School Law (2003 Ed. + 2016 Supp)

VI. (§6.9) Student Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), Pub. L. No. 93-380, 88 Stat. 571, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, governs the release of student records. Relevant federal regulations are contained in 34 C.F.R. Part 99. FERPA regulates access to student records by generally providing that the student’s parent or the student himself or herself (if he or she has reached the age of 18 or is attending a post-secondary institution) has access to his or her records, but access for other persons is limited. The law applies to any public or private educational agency or institution that receives funds from any federal program administered by the Secretary of Education. The law provides that federal education funds may be cut off from schools that do not comply with the law.

The Eighth Circuit held that FERPA does not give a private cause of action to an individual. Girardier v. Webster Coll., 563 F.2d 1267 (8^th Cir. 1977). But this holding may be eroding. In Fay v. South Colonie Central School District, 802 F.2d 21 (2^nd Cir. 1986), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that violations of FERPA can be remedied through a damage action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See also S. Camden Citizens in Action v. N.J. Dep’t of Envtl. Prot., 145 F. Supp. 2d 505 (D.N.J. 2001) (contains discussion of various court holdings on the availability of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to remedy a FERPA violation).

FERPA applies to all “education records,” which it defines as those records, files, documents, and other materials that contain information directly related to a student and that are maintained by the school or a person acting for the school. 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. The definition includes:

• admissions files;

• identification information;

• scholastic records;

• standardized test scores;

• disciplinary records;

• medical health records; and

• information pertaining to special services provided to the student.

FERPA excludes certain records, including records of instructional, supervisory, administrative, and educational personnel in the sole possession of the maker and not accessible to or revealed to any other person except a substitute. Clearly, this exception is meant to cover the teacher’s or principal’s private notes. A counselor’s unshared records about a student are probably also exempt from the law. On the other hand, a counselor’s evaluation shared with a teacher or anyone else is an education record and is covered.

The law gives parents of students under the...