Opinion ID: 780172
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Taylor's Record Amendment Claim

Text: 95 Taylor next alleges that the ACSU defendants deprived her of her right under FERPA, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(a)(2), to challenge inaccuracies in her daughter's school records. The FERPA regulations provide: 96 (a) An educational agency or institution shall give a parent or eligible student, on request, an opportunity for a hearing to challenge the content of the student's education records on the grounds that the information contained in the education records is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the privacy rights of the student. 97 (b)(1) If, as a result of the hearing, the educational agency or institution decides that the information is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of the student, it shall: 98 (i) Amend the record accordingly; and 99 (ii) Inform the parent or eligible student of the amendment in writing. 100 (2) If, as a result of the hearing, the educational agency or institution decides that the information in the education record is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of the student, it shall inform the parent or eligible student of the right to place a statement in the record commenting on the contested information in the record or stating why he or she disagrees with the decision of the agency or institution, or both. 101 34 C.F.R. § 99.21. Plaintiff's attempt to invoke the procedural protections of this rule was denied, as the magistrate judge determined that she lacked standing to make educational decisions for her daughter. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that Taylor lacks standing to bring her record-amendment claim, and therefore do not reach the question of whether a plaintiff may bring a § 1983 action to enforce 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(a)(2). 102 In contrast to the IDEA regulations, the FERPA implementing regulations specifically address the question of a non-custodial parent's rights under the statute: An educational agency or institution shall give full rights under the Act to either parent, unless the agency or institution has been provided with evidence that there is a court order, State statute, or legally binding document relating to such matters as divorce, separation, or custody that specifically revokes these rights. 34 C.F.R. § 99.4. In other words, the extent of Taylor's rights under FERPA must be determined with reference to the rights she retained under the decree. 103 The divorce decree clearly states that all legal rights over education lie with the father. The decision to bring a FERPA hearing to challenge the content of L.D.'s records certainly falls within the authority given to the natural father to make educational determinations on behalf of L.D. Plaintiff counters that her FERPA rights were not specifically revoke[d] by the divorce decree. It is not necessary, however, for the custody decree to state explicitly that it revokes FERPA rights, nor recite the litany of all possible rights that have been abrogated. It is enough that the court determined that Taylor no longer has authority to make decisions related to the education of her daughter. Taylor's right to seek a hearing to challenge the content of her daughter's academic files has therefore been specifically revoked within the meaning of the regulation. 19 104