20 U.S.C. § 1232g : US Code - Section 1232G: Family educational and privacy rights

Search 20 U.S.C. § 1232g : US Code - Section 1232G: Family educational and privacy rights

(a) Conditions for availability of funds to educational agencies or
institutions; inspection and review of education records;
specific information to be made available; procedure for access
to education records; reasonableness of time for such access;
hearings; written explanations by parents; definitions
(1)(A) No funds shall be made available under any applicable
program to any educational agency or institution which has a policy
of denying, or which effectively prevents, the parents of students
who are or have been in attendance at a school of such agency or at
such institution, as the case may be, the right to inspect and
review the education records of their children. If any material or
document in the education record of a student includes information
on more than one student, the parents of one of such students shall
have the right to inspect and review only such part of such
material or document as relates to such student or to be informed
of the specific information contained in such part of such
material. Each educational agency or institution shall establish
appropriate procedures for the granting of a request by parents for
access to the education records of their children within a
reasonable period of time, but in no case more than forty-five days
after the request has been made.
(B) No funds under any applicable program shall be made available
to any State educational agency (whether or not that agency is an
educational agency or institution under this section) that has a
policy of denying, or effectively prevents, the parents of students
the right to inspect and review the education records maintained by
the State educational agency on their children who are or have been
in attendance at any school of an educational agency or institution
that is subject to the provisions of this section.
(C) The first sentence of subparagraph (A) shall not operate to
make available to students in institutions of postsecondary
education the following materials:
(i) financial records of the parents of the student or any
information contained therein;
(ii) confidential letters and statements of recommendation,
which were placed in the education records prior to January 1,
1975, if such letters or statements are not used for purposes
other than those for which they were specifically intended;
(iii) if the student has signed a waiver of the student's right
of access under this subsection in accordance with subparagraph
(D), confidential recommendations -
(I) respecting admission to any educational agency or
institution,
(II) respecting an application for employment, and
(III) respecting the receipt of an honor or honorary
recognition.
(D) A student or a person applying for admission may waive his
right of access to confidential statements described in clause
(iii) of subparagraph (C), except that such waiver shall apply to
recommendations only if (i) the student is, upon request, notified
of the names of all persons making confidential recommendations and
(ii) such recommendations are used solely for the purpose for which
they were specifically intended. Such waivers may not be required
as a condition for admission to, receipt of financial aid from, or
receipt of any other services or benefits from such agency or
institution.
(2) No funds shall be made available under any applicable program
to any educational agency or institution unless the parents of
students who are or have been in attendance at a school of such
agency or at such institution are provided an opportunity for a
hearing by such agency or institution, in accordance with
regulations of the Secretary, to challenge the content of such
student's education records, in order to insure that the records
are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the
privacy rights of students, and to provide an opportunity for the
correction or deletion of any such inaccurate, misleading or
otherwise inappropriate data contained therein and to insert into
such records a written explanation of the parents respecting the
content of such records.
(3) For the purposes of this section the term "educational agency
or institution" means any public or private agency or institution
which is the recipient of funds under any applicable program.
(4)(A) For the purposes of this section, the term "education
records" means, except as may be provided otherwise in subparagraph
(B), those records, files, documents, and other materials which -
(i) contain information directly related to a student; and
(ii) are maintained by an educational agency or institution or
by a person acting for such agency or institution.
(B) The term "education records" does not include -
(i) records of instructional, supervisory, and administrative
personnel and educational personnel ancillary thereto which are
in the sole possession of the maker thereof and which are not
accessible or revealed to any other person except a substitute;
(ii) records maintained by a law enforcement unit of the
educational agency or institution that were created by that law
enforcement unit for the purpose of law enforcement;
(iii) in the case of persons who are employed by an educational
agency or institution but who are not in attendance at such
agency or institution, records made and maintained in the normal
course of business which relate exclusively to such person in
that person's capacity as an employee and are not available for
use for any other purpose; or
(iv) records on a student who is eighteen years of age or
older, or is attending an institution of postsecondary education,
which are made or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist,
psychologist, or other recognized professional or
paraprofessional acting in his professional or paraprofessional
capacity, or assisting in that capacity, and which are made,
maintained, or used only in connection with the provision of
treatment to the student, and are not available to anyone other
than persons providing such treatment, except that such records
can be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate
professional of the student's choice.
(5)(A) For the purposes of this section the term "directory
information" relating to a student includes the following: 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 of members of athletic
teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the
most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by
the student.
(B) Any educational agency or institution making public directory
information shall give public notice of the categories of
information which it has designated as such information with
respect to each student attending the institution or agency and
shall allow a reasonable period of time after such notice has been
given for a parent to inform the institution or agency that any or
all of the information designated should not be released without
the parent's prior consent.
(6) For the purposes of this section, the term "student" includes
any person with respect to whom an educational agency or
institution maintains education records or personally identifiable
information, but does not include a person who has not been in
attendance at such agency or institution.
(b) Release of education records; parental consent requirement;
exceptions; compliance with judicial orders and subpoenas; audit
and evaluation of federally-supported education programs;
recordkeeping
(1) No funds shall be made available under any applicable program
to any educational agency or institution which has a policy or
practice of permitting the release of education records (or
personally identifiable information contained therein other than
directory information, as defined in paragraph (5) of subsection
(a) of this section) of students without the written consent of
their parents to any individual, agency, or organization, other
than to the following -
(A) other school officials, including teachers within the
educational institution or local educational agency, who have
been determined by such agency or institution to have legitimate
educational interests, including the educational interests of the
child for whom consent would otherwise be required;
(B) officials of other schools or school systems in which the
student seeks or intends to enroll, upon condition that the
student's parents be notified of the transfer, receive a copy of
the record if desired, and have an opportunity for a hearing to
challenge the content of the record;
(C)(i) authorized representatives of (I) the Comptroller
General of the United States, (II) the Secretary, or (III) State
educational authorities, under the conditions set forth in
paragraph (3), or (ii) authorized representatives of the Attorney
General for law enforcement purposes under the same conditions as
apply to the Secretary under paragraph (3);
(D) in connection with a student's application for, or receipt
of, financial aid;
(E) State and local officials or authorities to whom such
information is specifically allowed to be reported or disclosed
pursuant to State statute adopted -
(i) before November 19, 1974, if the allowed reporting or
disclosure concerns the juvenile justice system and such
system's ability to effectively serve the student whose records
are released, or
(ii) after November 19, 1974, if -
(I) the allowed reporting or disclosure concerns the
juvenile justice system and such system's ability to
effectively serve, prior to adjudication, the student whose
records are released; and
(II) the officials and authorities to whom such information
is disclosed certify in writing to the educational agency or
institution that the information will not be disclosed to any
other party except as provided under State law without the
prior written consent of the parent of the student.(!1)
(F) organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of,
educational agencies or institutions for the purpose of
developing, validating, or administering predictive tests,
administering student aid programs, and improving instruction, if
such studies are conducted in such a manner as will not permit
the personal identification of students and their parents by
persons other than representatives of such organizations and such
information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the
purpose for which it is conducted;
(G) accrediting organizations in order to carry out their
accrediting functions;
(H) parents of a dependent student of such parents, as defined
in section 152 of title 26;
(I) subject to regulations of the Secretary, in connection with
an emergency, appropriate persons if the knowledge of such
information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the
student or other persons; and
(J)(i) the entity or persons designated in a Federal grand jury
subpoena, in which case the court shall order, for good cause
shown, the educational agency or institution (and any officer,
director, employee, agent, or attorney for such agency or
institution) on which the subpoena is served, to not disclose to
any person the existence or contents of the subpoena or any
information furnished to the grand jury in response to the
subpoena; and
(ii) the entity or persons designated in any other subpoena
issued for a law enforcement purpose, in which case the court or
other issuing agency may order, for good cause shown, the
educational agency or institution (and any officer, director,
employee, agent, or attorney for such agency or institution) on
which the subpoena is served, to not disclose to any person the
existence or contents of the subpoena or any information
furnished in response to the subpoena.
Nothing in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph shall prevent a State
from further limiting the number or type of State or local
officials who will continue to have access thereunder.
(2) No funds shall be made available under any applicable program
to any educational agency or institution which has a policy or
practice of releasing, or providing access to, any personally
identifiable information in education records other than directory
information, or as is permitted under paragraph (1) of this
subsection, unless -
(A) there is written consent from the student's parents
specifying records to be released, the reasons for such release,
and to whom, and with a copy of the records to be released to the
student's parents and the student if desired by the parents, or
(B) except as provided in paragraph (1)(J), such information is
furnished in compliance with judicial order, or pursuant to any
lawfully issued subpoena, upon condition that parents and the
students are notified of all such orders or subpoenas in advance
of the compliance therewith by the educational institution or
agency.
(3) Nothing contained in this section shall preclude authorized
representatives of (A) the Comptroller General of the United
States, (B) the Secretary, or (C) State educational authorities
from having access to student or other records which may be
necessary in connection with the audit and evaluation of Federally-
supported education programs, or in connection with the
enforcement of the Federal legal requirements which relate to such
programs: Provided, That except when collection of personally
identifiable information is specifically authorized by Federal law,
any data collected by such officials shall be protected in a manner
which will not permit the personal identification of students and
their parents by other than those officials, and such personally
identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer needed for such
audit, evaluation, and enforcement of Federal legal requirements.
(4)(A) Each educational agency or institution shall maintain a
record, kept with the education records of each student, which will
indicate all individuals (other than those specified in paragraph
(1)(A) of this subsection), agencies, or organizations which have
requested or obtained access to a student's education records
maintained by such educational agency or institution, and which
will indicate specifically the legitimate interest that each such
person, agency, or organization has in obtaining this information.
Such record of access shall be available only to parents, to the
school official and his assistants who are responsible for the
custody of such records, and to persons or organizations authorized
in, and under the conditions of, clauses (A) and (C) of paragraph
(1) as a means of auditing the operation of the system.
(B) With respect to this subsection, personal information shall
only be transferred to a third party on the condition that such
party will not permit any other party to have access to such
information without the written consent of the parents of the
student. If a third party outside the educational agency or
institution permits access to information in violation of paragraph
(2)(A), or fails to destroy information in violation of paragraph
(1)(F), the educational agency or institution shall be prohibited
from permitting access to information from education records to
that third party for a period of not less than five years.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit State
and local educational officials from having access to student or
other records which may be necessary in connection with the audit
and evaluation of any federally or State supported education
program or in connection with the enforcement of the Federal legal
requirements which relate to any such program, subject to the
conditions specified in the proviso in paragraph (3).
(6)(A) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an
institution of postsecondary education from disclosing, to an
alleged victim of any crime of violence (as that term is defined in
section 16 of title 18), or a nonforcible sex offense, the final
results of any disciplinary proceeding conducted by such
institution against the alleged perpetrator of such crime or
offense with respect to such crime or offense.
(B) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an
institution of postsecondary education from disclosing the final
results of any disciplinary proceeding conducted by such
institution against a student who is an alleged perpetrator of any
crime of violence (as that term is defined in section 16 of title
18), or a nonforcible sex offense, if the institution determines as
a result of that disciplinary proceeding that the student committed
a violation of the institution's rules or policies with respect to
such crime or offense.
(C) For the purpose of this paragraph, the final results of any
disciplinary proceeding -
(i) shall include only the name of the student, the violation
committed, and any sanction imposed by the institution on that
student; and
(ii) may include the name of any other student, such as a
victim or witness, only with the written consent of that other
student.
(7)(A) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit an
educational institution from disclosing information provided to the
institution under section 14071 of title 42 concerning registered
sex offenders who are required to register under such section.
(B) The Secretary shall take appropriate steps to notify
educational institutions that disclosure of information described
in subparagraph (A) is permitted.
(c) Surveys or data-gathering activities; regulations
Not later than 240 days after October 20, 1994, the Secretary
shall adopt appropriate regulations or procedures, or identify
existing regulations or procedures, which protect the rights of
privacy of students and their families in connection with any
surveys or data-gathering activities conducted, assisted, or
authorized by the Secretary or an administrative head of an
education agency. Regulations established under this subsection
shall include provisions controlling the use, dissemination, and
protection of such data. No survey or data-gathering activities
shall be conducted by the Secretary, or an administrative head of
an education agency under an applicable program, unless such
activities are authorized by law.
(d) Students' rather than parents' permission or consent
For the purposes of this section, whenever a student has attained
eighteen years of age, or is attending an institution of
postsecondary education, the permission or consent required of and
the rights accorded to the parents of the student shall thereafter
only be required of and accorded to the student.
(e) Informing parents or students of rights under this section
No funds shall be made available under any applicable program to
any educational agency or institution unless such agency or
institution effectively informs the parents of students, or the
students, if they are eighteen years of age or older, or are
attending an institution of postsecondary education, of the rights
accorded them by this section.
(f) Enforcement; termination of assistance
The Secretary shall take appropriate actions to enforce this
section and to deal with violations of this section, in accordance
with this chapter, except that action to terminate assistance may
be taken only if the Secretary finds there has been a failure to
comply with this section, and he has determined that compliance
cannot be secured by voluntary means.
(g) Office and review board; creation; functions
The Secretary shall establish or designate an office and review
board within the Department for the purpose of investigating,
processing, reviewing, and adjudicating violations of this section
and complaints which may be filed concerning alleged violations of
this section. Except for the conduct of hearings, none of the
functions of the Secretary under this section shall be carried out
in any of the regional offices of such Department.
(h) Disciplinary records; disclosure
Nothing in this section shall prohibit an educational agency or
institution from -
(1) including appropriate information in the education record
of any student concerning disciplinary action taken against such
student for conduct that posed a significant risk to the safety
or well-being of that student, other students, or other members
of the school community; or
(2) disclosing such information to teachers and school
officials, including teachers and school officials in other
schools, who have legitimate educational interests in the
behavior of the student.
(i) Drug and alcohol violation disclosures
(1) In general
Nothing in this Act or the Higher Education Act of 1965 [20
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.] shall be construed to prohibit 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.
(2) State law regarding disclosure
Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be construed to supersede any
provision of State law that prohibits an institution of higher
education from making the disclosure described in subsection (a)
of this section.
(j) Investigation and prosecution of terrorism
(1) In general
Notwithstanding subsections (a) through (i) of this section or
any provision of State law, the Attorney General (or any Federal
officer or employee, in a position not lower than an Assistant
Attorney General, designated by the Attorney General) may submit
a written application to a court of competent jurisdiction for an
ex parte order requiring an educational agency or institution to
permit the Attorney General (or his designee) to -
(A) collect education records in the possession of the
educational agency or institution that are relevant to an
authorized investigation or prosecution of an offense listed in
section 2332b(g)(5)(B) of title 18, or an act of domestic or
international terrorism as defined in section 2331 of that
title; and
(B) for official purposes related to the investigation or
prosecution of an offense described in paragraph (1)(A),
retain, disseminate, and use (including as evidence at trial or
in other administrative or judicial proceedings) such records,
consistent with such guidelines as the Attorney General, after
consultation with the Secretary, shall issue to protect
confidentiality.
(2) Application and approval
(A) In general. - An application under paragraph (1) shall
certify that there are specific and articulable facts giving
reason to believe that the education records are likely to
contain information described in paragraph (1)(A).
(B) The court shall issue an order described in paragraph (1)
if the court finds that the application for the order includes
the certification described in subparagraph (A).
(3) Protection of educational agency or institution
An educational agency or institution that, in good faith,
produces education records in accordance with an order issued
under this subsection shall not be liable to any person for that
production.
(4) Record-keeping
Subsection (b)(4) of this section does not apply to education
records subject to a court order under this subsection.