Federal Legislation and Student Privacy Rights
What Parents Need to Know

By Jeffrey S. Putman,
Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
Purchase College &

Rich Bova,
Director of Student Services
Purchase College

Many parents/guardians do not realize the protections and rights which the Federal government has extended to students and their records held by the college or university which they attend. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (otherwise known as FERPA or the Buckley Amendment) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student educational records. The Act applies equally to all institutions of higher education, public or private, so long as the school receives funds from the Federal Government.

What are Educational Records?

Educational records, as defined by FERPA, include any records maintained by the college or university. These include any collections of personally identifiable information pertaining to students. These include any records maintained by the college or university by personnel acting for the college or university, including computer files or written materials. Examples of some of these files are those found in the Office of the Registrar (grades, letters of recommendation, transcripts), the Office of the Dean of Students or Vice President for Student Affairs (often including any disciplinary records), the file maintained by your student's academic advisor, or the file maintained in the financial aid office. In fact, the only records not covered under FERPA are those maintained by campus police or security departments for law enforcement purposes, a parent's financial records, employment records maintained by the college or university, personal notes maintained by a faculty member or advisor or confidential health records maintained by the school's health service or counseling center.

Rights Provided by FERPA

Students are provided several rights with respect to their educational files at any college or university which they attend. (These rights are, in most cases, also extended to eligible parents or guardians who claim students as dependents on their most recent tax returns.) Under FERPA, a student may:

• inspect and review any educational records maintained by the college or university, except those which a student has waived their right to review (as is common with letters of recommendation); and
• request that the college or university correct any records which are in error; and
• place a statement in the record stating his/her view about the contested information in a file if the school decides not to amend the record.

Privacy Protections provided by FERPA

For the most part, colleges and university must have written permission from the student in order to release any information from a student's education record to a parent/guardian (unless, of course, the student is a dependent of the parent). However, there are several reasons under which a school can release records without permission from the student. Those include:

• authorized college or university personnel defined by the person responsible for the file as having a reasonable need to know;
• State and Federal education authorities to whom information must be made available by statute and/or for the audit of federal programs;
• organizations and educational agencies involved in testing, administering financial aid, or improving instruction, provided the information is presented anonymously;
• accrediting agencies;
• parents and legal guardians of students regarded as "dependent" by the IRS definition of the term, if dependency is demonstrated;
• situations of compliance with court-order subpoena, in which case an attempt is made to notify the student in advance;
• appropriate persons in the case of emergency; or
• college attorneys.

The only other exception includes information which is routinely released to the public, such as commencement listings, election results, and rosters of athletic teams, which is regarded as "public" or "directory information" and, as such, can be released without a student's consent. Specific items regarded by a college or university as "directory information" are required to be published, at least annually, by the college or university.

Items which are typically listed as directory information include: the student's name, campus telephone number, home address, e-mail address, matriculation status, class level, current full-time or part-time status, dates of attendance and graduation, major fields of study and degrees, awards and academic degrees, participation in recognized college activities (election outcomes, membership in athletic teams, participation in plays, etc.), and personal information on members of college athletic teams (height, weight, high school, etc.).

Information may also be released for research and for purposes related to the welfare of certain groups in an anonymous matter, or in a way which does not infringe on any individual's right to privacy. One acceptable way is to remove all identifiable signs and to provide the information by class only. Another is to inform individuals of the chance to participate in a particular research project by informing them who to contact if they wish to participate. When any personally identifiable information is released from a student record in an authorized fashion, the party to whom the information is given must be notified that there is to be no release of that information to a third party.

How Students Can Restrict Their Record

The annual FERPA announcement must also inform students of their rights to exclude themselves from any or all such releases, often referred to as "restricting" their information. Traditionally, students must notify the Office of the Registrar if they request that certain information not be released. Once a student's information is restricted, even the fact that they are a student cannot be released without the direct authorization of the student.

Alcohol and Drug Disclosure

The Warner Amendment to the Higher Education Reauthorization Act of 1998 removed the prohibition against an institution of higher education "from disclosing, to a parent or legal guardian of a student, information regarding any violation of any Federal, State, or local law, or of any rule or policy of the institution, governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance, regardless of whether that information is contained in the student's education records, if -- (A) the student is under the age of 21; and (B) the institution determines that the student has committed a disciplinary violation with respect to such use or possession."

Under this new rule, a college or university can release information about an incident of a violation of illegal drug use or alcohol policy by a student under 21 to their parent/ guardian even if the student is not a dependent.

A parent/guardian may find the law frustrating in their attempt to access information regarding the student. The best approach would be to establish open and honest dialogue with your student before they head off to school and to work on maintaining that dialogue throughout their college career.

About the Authors

Jeffrey S. Putman obtained his masters degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University and his bachelor's degree from Purchase College, State University of New York. He currently works at Purchase College, State University of New York in the position of Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. Jeffrey is current the Region II Chair of the Information Technology Network, Newsletter Editor, and Regional Webmaster for Region II of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and is a member of the Kappa Delta Pi educational honor society.

Rich Bova is currently Director of Student Services at Purchase College, State University of New York. Rich has served as Director of College Housing at Purchase College and as Complex Manger at the University of Connecticut. He is a Past President of NEACUHO (North East Association of College and University Housing Officers) where he served the organization for 9 years in various leadership roles.