Source: https://www.rcfp.org/open-government-sections/t-school-and-university-records/
Timestamp: 2019-10-21 16:25:04
Document Index: 310765575

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1', '§ 74', '§ 22', '§84', '§ 22', '§ 14', '§ 14', '§ 15', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 18', '§ 126', '§ 18', '§ 1232', 'art 99', '§ 18', '§ 18']

T. School and university records Archives - The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
See Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-210(b)(11) as discussed above in Records Outline at II.A.2.k; see also Polman v. UConn School of Law, Do. #FIC 83-68 (Oct. 26, 1983) (respondent is a public agency).
Public school and university records are subject to the Act’s disclosure requirements.
The Idaho Public Records Act exempts certain records related to academic research at public institutions of higher education. See Idaho Code § 74-107(20)-(23).
The FOIA specifically exempts the following information pertaining to educational matters:
5 ILCS 140/7(1)(j).
While the Illinois School Student Records Act, 105 ILCS 10/1 et seq., (which applies to Illinois’ primary and secondary schools) protects certain student records wherein students are individually identifiable, masked or de-identified student records and test scores are open. Bowie v. Evanston Community Consol. School Dist. No. 65, 128 Ill.2d 373, 538 N.E.2d 557, 131 Ill.Dec. 182 (1989).
Generally, while records pertaining to individually identifiable students are exempt, records pertaining to a school’s or university’s administration are not.
Iowa Code § 22.7(1) states the following:
Personal information in records regarding a student, prospective student, or former student maintained, created, collected or assembled by or for a school corporation or educational institution maintaining such records. This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit a postsecondary education institution from disclosing to a parent or guardian information regarding a violation of a federal, state, or local law, or institutional rule or policy governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance if the child is under the age of twenty-one years and the institution determines that the student committed a disciplinary violation with respect to the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance regardless of whether that information is contained in the student's education records. This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit a school corporation or educational institution from transferring student records electronically to the department of education, an accredited nonpublic school, an attendance center, a school district, or an accredited postsecondary institution in accordance with section 256.9, subsection 44.
“A subpoena is a sufficient court order under section 22.7(1) to allow a party to obtain possession of records to allow a court an opportunity to assess their relevancy and materiality.” Poole v. Hawkeye Area Cmty. Action Program, Inc., 666 N.W.2d 560, 565 (Iowa 2003).
Personal information in records regarding students is not public, other than routine directory information. Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-712.05(1) (Reissue 2014)
Student, faculty, and staff lists with personal identifying information obtained from a public school may not be used for marketing goods and services to students, faculty, staff, or their families. NMSA 1978 § 22-21-2. Letters or memorandums that are matters of opinion contained in students’ cumulative files are also not available to the public. NMSA 1978 § 14-2-1(A). Information that is confidential under federal law may also exempt from disclosure under state law. See, e.g., NMSA 1978 § 14-2-1(A)(8).
In 2010, a coalition of nine media organizations sued the University of North Carolina for access to records related to an NCAA investigation of improprieties in the football program. The case explored interpretation of the interplay between the Public records law and the state and federal laws requiring confidentiality of education records. UNC has withheld certain records (including phone records and parking tickets) on the basis of FERPA and the North Carolina statute relating to confidentiality of student records. The case resolved with the trial judge determining that FERPA was not the all-encompassing “invisibility cloak” the University contended.
Generally restricted under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which is a specific exception to the open records law.
Please see the discussion of education records and information exemptions. Records of a school law enforcement unit regarding a student at a school are also confidential. N.D.C.C. § 15.1-19-14.
"Scholastic records" means those records containing information directly related to a student or an applicant for admission and maintained by a public body that is an educational agency or institution or by a person acting for such agency or institution. Scholastic records include directory information, which includes 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 as a member of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and most recent previous educational agency or institution attended Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3705.4.A.1. Scholastic records containing identifiable information are excluded under the Act, but the subjects of the records or the subject’s guardian will have access to the records. Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3705.4.
There is no specific FOIA exemption for school or university records. However, confidentiality of West Virginia public school records is required by several laws and policies. The West Virginia Student Data Accessibility, Transparency and Accountability Act, provides protection for a wide range of "Confidential student information" that is defined as:
"data relating to a person's Social Security number, or other identification number issued by a state or federal agency, except for the state-assigned student identifier as defined in this section, religious affiliation, whether the person or a member of their household owns or possesses a firearm, whether the person or their family are or were recipients of financial assistance from a state or federal agency, medical, psychological or behavioral diagnoses, criminal history, criminal history of parents, siblings or any members of the person's household, vehicle registration number, driver's license number, biometric information, handwriting sample, credit card numbers, consumer credit history, credit score, or genetic information."
W. Va. Code § 18-2-5h. See also, West Virginia Bd. of Educ. Procedural Rules, W. Va. R. § 126-94-1 et seq., which is applicable to all state educational agencies and institutions. (procedures "set forth the conditions governing the protection and privacy and access of parents and students as it relates to the collection, maintenance, disclosure and destruction of education records by agencies and institutions under the supervision of the West Virginia Board of Education"). See http://statelaws.findlaw.com/west-virginia-law/west-virginia-privacy-of-school-records-laws.html - sthash.0NxNV0Nw.dpuf
However, individual students' and personnel records generally would be subject to the balancing test applicable to personal information. Information concerning the institution, including trustee records, should be available for public inspection. A specific statute requires colleges and universities in the state to provide information to the public regarding alleged crimes occurring on campus and reported to the school's security or other officials. W. Va. Code § 18B-4-5a.
It should be noted, however, that many student records of state colleges and universities are exempt from disclosure pursuant to federal law. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, (“FERPA”) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), and the National School Lunch Act (NSLA), are federal laws that provide various levels of confidentiality for student education records. FERPA applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Information relating to FERPA is available at the United States Department of Education website: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html.
Corporations created under the Higher Education Act are exempt from the provisions of the Open Government Proceedings Act and the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act. W. Va. Code § 18B-1F-4(a)(4).
All information relating to a reported incident of harassment, intimidation or bullying in schools is confidential, and exempt from disclosure under the provisions of the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act. W. Va. Code § 18-2C-3(b)(10).