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Student Record Requirements
1925: National Education Association Committee defines list of things all student records should contain. Leading up to this point, clear guidelines did not exist and were not required. (Elliott, Fatemi, & Wasan, 2014) -
Privacy: A Legal Issue
1933: First legal privacy case seen in Utah in 1933, making it illegal to use pictures or names without permission. This brought the legal issue of privacy of personal information to light (Elliott, Fatemi, & Wasan, 2014). -
Griswold v. Connecticut
1965: Court case of Griswold v. Connecticut resulted in ruling that the right to privacy exists due to the First, Third, Fourth, and Fifth amendments in the Bill of Rights. Overall, the right to privacy was deemed constitutional and the foundation for student’s rights to privacy was set. (Elliott, Fatemi, & Wasan, 2014) -
FERPA
President Gerald Ford signs Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) into law. The goals of FERPA consisted of granting parents and students 18 years of age and older access to their educational records as well as prohibiting the release of records to the public without written consent (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). Individuals could now review their records, submit a written request for changes, and designate via written consent who else could have access to their information. -
FERPA Goes Live
The first day that FERPA took effect since it had been 90 days after the initial signing (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). -
Buckley Pell Amendment
Buckley Pell Amendment: This amendment was the first amendment that was initiated by stakeholders Senator Buckley and Senator Pell. (U.S. Department of Education, 2004) -
Sex Crime Prevention
Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act: This act made it possible for education institutions to be able to release information regarding sex offenders (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). -
USA Patriot Act
USA Patriot Act: The most recent amendment states that the Attorney General is allowed access to a student’s records for use in criminal cases when proper documentation is presented (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). -
No Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind Act & National Defense Authorization Act: One aspect of these acts required the release of directory information to military recruiters (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). -
Owasso v. Falvo
Court case of Owasso v. Falvo examined peer grading and whether it was a violation to FERPA. A parent claimed that peer grading and vocally sharing grades in the classroom was a release of student’s personal records and violation of privacy. The court ruled that student work was not considered a record by FERPA standards until it was a part of the grade book, so peer grading and releasing assignment score information is acceptable in the classroom. (Elliott, Fatemi, & Wasan, 2014) -
Four Pending Bills
Four bills were proposed in 114th Congress that would ultimately prohibit schools and media companies from selling directory information or for using it as a marketing strategy. The goal is to take technology into consideration in respects to what improvements could be made to further protect privacy in educational institutions. However, a decision has not been met in the Senate or the House on these bills (Moore, 2015). -
Unspecified Means of Notification
Currently, parents and students must be notified of their rights related to FERPA. However, the means by which notification must occur is not specified and, instead, is left up to the educational institution (Elliott, Fatemi, & Wasan, 2014). In the future, it is possible that further guidelines will detail how awareness must be made in efforts to ensure all parents and students are aware of their rights of privacy and access in regards to educational records. -
Looking Forward
In the future, it would be helpful for consequences, other than just a cut to a school’s funding, to be enforced in the occurrence of a FERPA violation (Elliott, Fatemi, & Wasan, 2014). As of now, funding penalties are the only repercussion for not abiding by FERPA, which means that if institutions decide that federal funding is not necessary, FERPA violations can occur with zero accountability.