November
2006
Office
of General Counsel
FERPA
GUIDELINES FOR THE BUSINESS OFFICE:
PARENTAL REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA,
also known as the Buckley Amendment) regulates the keeping and disclosure of
student education records at all institutions that receive federal funds
(including private institutions whose students receive federal loans.) At the postsecondary level, parents have no
inherent rights to inspect a student’s education records. Once a student is eighteen (18) OR matriculates
into a postsecondary institution, the right to inspect and consent to release
of education records is limited to the student.
Under
FERPA, tax dependency allows the University, if it wishes, to release student
records to parents without consent. Tax
dependency (when students can be claimed by their parents as dependents for tax
purposes) brings parents under a FERPA exception to student consent for release
of student records. It does not give
parents co-extensive rights to consent to other releases of information in
student records, to challenge the accuracy of student records, to challenge a
subpoena, etc.
W&L
has elected to rely on FERPA’s tax-dependency exception for the limited purpose
of releasing fall interim grades of freshmen students to parents. Otherwise, it is the University’s general
practice to require signed student consent to release student records to
parents.
Q1: What records
are covered under FERPA as student “education records ”?
A1: Any record maintained by the University which is directly
related to a student, with the following exceptions:
·
Records made by
University employees which are kept in the sole possession of the maker, are
used only as a personal memory aid, and are not accessible or revealed to any
other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record;
·
Employment records,
unless the employment is contingent on the fact that the employee is a student;
·
Records maintained by
University Security solely for law enforcement purposes;
·
Records made,
maintained and used by professionals or paraprofessionals (e.g., physician,
psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor) only in connection with treatment of
the student, and disclosed only to individuals providing the treatment. Such
health records may be reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional
of the student's choice;
·
Alumni records
containing information about individuals after they are no longer students at
the University.
Q2: Are there
education records to which students are not allowed access, and thus, parents
should not be provided access, even with student consent?
A2: Under federal regulations, students are not allowed access
to the following types of records:
Q3: When may
W&L release student education records to parents?
A3: Only if one of the following conditions is satisfied: (1)
in compliance with a valid subpoena, with advance notice to the student; (2) in
connection with a health or safety emergency; (3) with written consent of the
student; (4) if the
student is under age twenty-one and has been found to have violated the law and
university policy on alcohol/drugs; and/or (5) if the information is “directory
information,” defined at A10 below. As stated
above, FERPA does not prohibit the release of education records to the parents
of tax-dependent students, yet W&L has elected to rely on this
tax-dependency exception for the limited purpose of releasing fall interim
grades of freshmen students.
Q4: If any one of
the above conditions is satisfied, is W&L REQUIRED to disclose student
education records to a parent?
A4: NO --Only to comply with a lawfully issued subpoena. In the other cases, W&L may exercise its
discretion to do so. It has been and
continues to be the institutional policy of W&L to disclose student
education records to parents when one of the above conditions is satisfied,
which is most often when the information is in the student’s “directory
information” or with a student’s written consent.
Q5: Can student
consent be verbal?
A5: NO --consent must be in writing, signed and dated by the
student, specifying the records to be released, the reasons for such release,
and to whom the records are to be disclosed. A consent form is available online
at the University Registrar’s website (http://registrar.wlu.edu/forms/FacCombinedRelease.doc),
which can be modified to specify release to parents by Business Office
personnel, or the Office of General Counsel can prepare a specific consent
form.
Q6: What type of
evidence is sufficient to prove tax dependent status?
A6: W&L has elected to rely on FERPA’s tax-dependency
exception for the limited purpose of releasing fall interim grades for
freshmen. The W&L FERPA notice provides that the paying of tuition by a
parent or other individual is sufficient indication that the student qualifies
as a dependent. The notice instructs
students that if their tuition is being paid by someone else, but they are not
a dependent for federal income tax purposes, they should notify the University
Registrar of their independent tax status, in which case education record
information will be released only with consent or when otherwise authorized by
law.
The most
recent Federal Income Tax return should be provided when dependency status is
at issue. This record need not be
retained at all, once dependent status is verified. Indeed, as students have no right under FERPA
to view their parents ’ financial information, parental tax records should not
be kept with the student’s education record.
Instead, once dependent status has been verified, a notation to that
effect, indicating the type and date of documentary evidence provided, should
be made for future reference.
Q7: Where parents are separated or divorced, does the
non-custodial, “nondependent” parent have a right to request student education
records where one of the above conditions is satisfied?
A7: YES – unless parental rights or access are specifically
revoked by court order, W&L may disclose student education records to
either or both requesting parents, regardless of custody or who claims the
student as a tax dependent. Keep in mind
that this does not mean W&L must disclose the records; only that it has the
discretion to do so.
Q8: May W&L
disclose one parent ’s financial information to the other parent? To the student?
A8: Such financial information is part of the student’s
educational record. FERPA specifically
prohibits student access to parental financial information, but does not speak
to access by the other parent. FERPA
does allow disclosure of the student’s educational record for purposes of
financial aid when the disclosure is to determine aid eligibility, amount,
conditions, or to enforce terms/conditions of aid. It is not likely that one parent’s request
for the other parent’s financial information would satisfy any of those
conditions for release. Generally,
W&L should not release one parent’s financial information from a student’s
education record to the other parent, absent a lawfully issued subpoena. There may be unique situations where
disclosure is warranted, after consultation with the Office of General Counsel.
Q9: What about
guardians or stepparents?
A9: FERPA recognizes as “parents” natural parents, guardians,
or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a parent or
guardian. This would seem to exclude
stepparents unless there was no natural parent or other legal guardian.
Q10: What is
included within the category of “directory information” and does the release of
such information require any type of consent or notice to the student?
A10: W&L designates the following categories of student
information as public or "directory information." W&L may
disclose such information at its discretion to parents or any other third party
without consent or notice to the student at the time of disclosure, provided
the student has not requested that directory information be withheld (see
below.)
DIRECTORY INFORMATION
Name Previous institution(s)
attended
Current
enrollment Major
field(s) of study
Local
address Awards and
honors (e.g. Honor Roll, Dean's List)
Permanent
address Degree(s) conferred
(including dates)
Local
telephone number Full-time
or part-time status
Campus e-mail address Photographic
or videotaped image
Date and place of birth Past and
present participation in officially recognized sports and activities,
Dates of
attendance including
fraternities and sororities, and physical
factors of athletes (e.g. height, weight)
Class standing (e.g. sophomore)
Schedule of classes
(Examples of information that is NOT directory information
and is thus not releasable without advanced student permission include race,
religion, and parent names.)
Currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of
directory information. To withhold disclosure, written notification must be
received on an annual basis (usually at matriculation) by the University
Registrar's Office at:
Q11: Does W&L
need to keep any record of request/disclosure when parents request a student’s
education record?
A11: NO – FERPA regulations do not require that a record be kept
of disclosures to parents or disclosures of directory information.
Q12: May W&L
charge parents the cost of copying for requested student education records?
A12: Yes, so long as the cost is reasonable and does not
effectively prevent the parent from accessing the records. At W&L the per page copying cost is fifty
cents ($.50) per page, charged to students and all others requesting copies of
education records.
Q13: Where can I
get further information on FERPA?
A13: Go to the University’s FERPA notice online at http://registrar.wlu.edu/policies/ferpa.htm. There are also several good FERPA tutorials
online at http://www.ups.edu/registrar/sld001.htm
and http://counsel.cua.edu/Ferpa,
though bear in mind that the policies and procedures linked to those tutorials
are those of the