Source: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/hottopics/ht10-28-02.html?exp=0
Timestamp: 2019-06-26 12:21:16
Document Index: 453480601

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1232', 'art 99', '§ 99', '§ 99', '§ 1232', 'art 98']

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On June 27, 2002, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a lower court's ruling that university disciplinary records are "education records" under FERPA and that disclosing such records without students' consent constitutes a violation of FERPA. In 1998, the Department asked a federal district court in Ohio to enjoin Miami University and the Ohio State University from disclosing records containing the names of student victims and accused students as prohibited under FERPA. On March 20, 2000, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio permanently enjoined the two Ohio universities from disclosing their on-campus disciplinary records to the public under the State's open records law.
In affirming the ruling, the circuit court concluded that continued release of student disciplinary records "will irreparably harm the United States" and the Department. This is important for three reasons: 1) the court agreed with the lower court that the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act provides parents and students with statistical information about the type and amount of crimes on campus; 2) the court reaffirmed the Department's broad reading of the term "education records" and stated that Congress, in amending FERPA in 1998 to allow postsecondary institutions to disclose the final results of disciplinary proceedings, must have intended that disciplinary records be education records or this amendment would be "superfluous"; and 3) the court held that the Department was within its right in seeking an injunctive relief in this case because none of the administrative remedies authorized by FERPA would have stopped the violations. In effect, the court held that the Department can take preemptive actions in enforcing FERPA, rather than only after violations occur.
FERPA is a federal law that applies to educational agencies and institutions that receive federal funds under any program administered by the Secretary of Education. Generally, FERPA prohibits the funding of an educational agency or institution that has a policy or practice of disclosing a student's "education record" without the consent of the parent or eligible student. The FERPA statute is found in 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and the regulations (not yet amended to reflect the most recent legislative changes) are found in 34 CFR Part 99.
FERPA currently permits schools to transfer any and all education records, including disciplinary records, on a student who is transferring to another school. See § 99.31(a)(2) and § 99.34 of the FERPA regulations. This new provision requires States that receive funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), within two (2) years, to provide an assurance to the Secretary that the State "has a procedure in place to facilitate the transfer of disciplinary records, with respect to a suspension or expulsion, by local educational agencies to any private or public elementary school or secondary school for any student who is enrolled or seeks, intends, or is instructed to enroll, on a full- or part-time basis, in the school."
FPCO is including an announcement in the notice to SEAs and LEAs about this new provision so that SEAs and LEAs can start to implement the new requirement.
Congress passed a provision in the No Child Left Behind Act that addresses the disclosure of directory-type information (students' names, addresses, and telephone listings) to military recruiters. Congress also included similar language in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002. Both laws, with some exceptions, require schools to provide directory-type information to military recruiters who request it. Typically, recruiters are requesting names, addresses, and telephone listings on junior and senior high school students that will be used for recruiting purposes and college scholarships offered by the military.
The Department, in consultation with the Department of Defense, has developed guidance on the provisions contained in these two laws. The guidance has been made available to SEAs and LEAs, as well posted on our Web site: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OM/fpco/hottopics/ht10-09-02.html.
The No Child Left Behind Act contains a major amendment to PPRA that gives parents more rights with regard to the surveying of minor students, the collection of information from students for marketing purposes, and certain non-emergency medical examinations. PPRA has been referred to as the "Hatch Amendment" and the "Grassley Amendment" after authors of amendments to the law. Now, school officials may hear the law referred to as the "Tiahrt Amendment" after Congressman Todd Tiahrt, who introduced the changes regarding surveys to the PPRA. The statute is found in 20 U.S.C. § 1232h and the regulations (not yet updated) are found in 34 CFR Part 98.
U.S. Department of Education Surveys
that schools and contractors obtain prior written parental consent before minor students are required to participate in any ED-funded survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning:
Subsections a and b of PPRA generally apply when a survey is funded, at least in part, by any program administered by the Secretary of Education.