FERPA

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FERPA

• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
• (The Buckley Amendment)

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• FERPA Case Study 
• The parents of one of your students call you
  at the office. They are upset that their
  daughter has not told them what grades she
  received last semester, her first on campus.
  They suspect she did not do well, and that she
  may be in danger of losing a merit scholarship
  that helps pay tuition. They provide the rest of
  the financial support for their daughter, even
  claiming her as a dependent on their federal
  taxes so they feel they have a right to know
  what the grades were.

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QUESTIONS 

• Do you inform them of their daughters grades?
•   
• What is your rationale for that decision?
•   
• If you do not grant their request, what options
  do you discuss with the parents?
•  

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• What is FERPA?
• A federal law.
• Provides minimum standards for the management of
  student educational records.
• Applies to all educational agencies or
  institutions that receive federal funds made
  available under any federal program administered
  by the Secretary of Education.

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Primary Rights of Students

• Right to inspect and review educational records.
• Right to seek to amend educational records.
• Right to have some control over the disclosure of
  information from educational records.

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• The student does not have the right to see
• Financial information submitted by the parent.
• Educational information of other students such as
  grades or test scores

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• What are educational records?
• All records which contain information directly
  related to a student and are maintained by the
  institution as a part of the students permanent
  school record.

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• Two types of educational records
• Directory Information
• Non-Directory Information

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• Directory Information
• Directory information may be disclosed without
  the written consent of the student.
• The student may restrict the release of directory
  information.

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      STUDENT PRIVACY NOTICE   As a student you
have certain rights provided by the federal
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA). According to FERPA, educational entities
have the right to disclose certain directory
information. This directory information
includes name date of birth current and
permanent address telephone listing major and
minor current class schedule number of hours
enrolled in current semester classification
participation in officially recognized activities
and sports weight and height of members of
athletic teams dates of attendance degrees and
awards received most recent Educational Agency
or Institution attended. This information can be
provided to anyone who inquires and usually
includes but is not limited to other
institutions, prospective employers, or family
members.   FERPA also allows, with your consent,
for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
(the State of Texas educational governing entity)
to disclose student information, including the
number of credit hours taken at other
institutions, to a variety of parties including
other educational institutions. This information
is typically used to gather demographic
statistics aimed at improving educational
programs.   YOU as a student have the right to
request this information not be
released.   Please indicate your request that
South Plains College not release your directory
information by checking the following     ______I
do not want my directory information as
described in the above paragraph to be released
to any parties.         __________________________
___________ __________________________
________ (Signature) (Social
Security Number)     IMPORTANT NOTE   If you
request that your directory information be
private, no information will be released to a
third party. This means that your information
will be blocked from ALL requestors,
including   Ø      Third party scholarship
sponsors Ø      National state student honors
programs Ø      Employers certifying attendance
and degrees Ø      Published honor rolls Ø     
Recruiting lists for other colleges/universities Ø
      State tuition rebates, Texas Grant awards,
and other state scholarships
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• What does SPC identify as Directory Information?
• Name
• Date of Birth
• Current and Permanent Address
• E-mail address
• Telephone Listing
• Major and Minor
• Enrollment Status (full-time or part-time)
• Classification

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• Directory Information, continued
• Participation in Officially Recognized Activities
  and Sports
• Major and Minor Field of Study
• Dates of Attendance (such as fall 2006 not
  specific attendance records)
• Degrees and Awards Received
• Most Recent Educational Agencies or Institutions
  Attended
• Photo or other Image

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• Non-Directory Information
• May not be released to anyone without prior
  written consent of the student.
• Faculty and staff can access non-directory
  information only if they have a legitimate
  academic need to do so.

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Filebound?????
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Examples of Non-Directory Information

• Social Security Numbers
• Student Identification Numbers
• Race, ethnicity and/or nationality
• Gender
• Transcripts grade reports

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• Parents and FERPA
• Parental rights transfer to the student upon
  reaching 18 years of age or attending school
  beyond secondary level.
• The law allows parental access if the student is
  claimed as a dependent for Federal income tax
  purposes.
• The parent must complete a Certificate of
  Dependency form in Admissions and Records Office
  before access to records is permitted.

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• SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE
• Admissions and Records Office
• 1401 South College Avenue ? Levelland, TX
  79336 ? [phone] ? Fax (806)
  897-3167
•  
•  
• PARENTS CERTIFICATION OF DEPENDENCY FORM
• (For release of student records)
•  
• The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of
  1974 provides privacy protection of a students
  academic record and limits the release of such
  records without the students consent. The Act
  further provides that the College may disclose
  such records to parents or legal guardians if the
  student is a dependent as defined in Section 152
  of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
•  
• To enable the Office of Admissions and Records to
  release to you the students academic record
  (college transcript), please complete this form,
  attach a photocopy of the first page of your most
  recent Federal Income Tax Form, and return the
  packet to 
• South Plains College
• Admissions and Records Office, Box C
• 1401 S. College Avenue
• Levelland, TX 79336 
• PARENTS DECLARATION I certify that I am the
  parent/legal guardian of the listed student in
  accordance with the above legislation. I agree
  to cancel this request when the student is no
  longer my dependent. 
• ____________________________ ______
• Parent/Guardians Signature
  Date 
• STUDENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT I acknowledge that I
  am aware of this request to release my records to
  my parent/guardian. I understand that this
  release is in effect until the College is
  notified to cancel it. 

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With few exceptions you are entitled, on your
request, to be informed about the information
South Plains College collects about you. Under
Sections 552.021 and 552.023 of the Texas
Government Code, you are entitled to receive and
review the information. Under Section 559.004 of
the Texas Government Code, you are entitled to
have South Plains College correct information
about you that is held by us and that is
incorrect. Be assured that your SPC records are
protected from unauthorized disclosure by federal
law.   Your social security number (SSN) or SPC
identification number is being requested because
it is a unique identification number which is
maintained for the purpose of assurance that the
correct student record is being updated, for
tracking purposes and for state and federal
report requirements. The disclosure of such
information is voluntary. Your disclosure of
your social security number or SPC identification
number will be governed by the Public Information
Act (Charter 552 of the Texas Government
Code).     Please Print Information
Below     Students Legal Name __________________
_________________________ SSN
_______________________   Parents Address
________________________________________________
_________________________ Parent/Guardians
Name   __________________________________________
_______________________________ E-mail
address   _______________________________________
__________________________________ Street
Address   _______________________________________
____ _________
___________ City State
Zip Code
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Inspection and Review of Education Records

• 99.10 What rights exist for a student or
  eligible parent to inspect and review education
  records?
• School must comply with request within 45 days.
• Generally required to give copies only if failure
  to do so would effectively deny access example
  would be a student or former student who does not
  live within commuting distance.
• School may not destroy records if request for
  access is pending.

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Inspection and Review

• FERPA does not permit an institution to defer
  complying with a request to inspect and review
  education records while the school is not in
  session or when teachers or other school
  officials who maintain the records are on
  vacation.
• Example A parent filed a complaint against a
  school district for violating 99.10. The
  parent made the request in June and the district
  notified the parent that records from teachers or
  service providers who were gone for summer break
  would not be made available until after school
  began in September.

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Inspection and Review

• The 45-day response time is not limited to
  administrative or official records maintained
  in a central school or district office. Congress
  provided up to 45 days to comply with a request,
  which allows time for the agency or institution
  to locate and retrieve education records
  maintained outside or away from a students
  official or cumulative files.

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• Failure to Comply with FERPA
• Lawsuit
• Loss of Federal funding
• Conviction of misdemeanor under Public
  Information Act

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• Remember
• When in doubt, dont give it out!

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FERPA Quiz

• TRUE / FALSE
• 1. FERPA regulations do not apply to most dual
  credit students, as they are under the age of 18.

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FERPA Quiz

• Parental rights transfer to the student upon
  attending a school beyond secondary level.
• In a situation where a student is enrolled in
  both a high school and a postsecondary
  institution, the two schools may exchange
  information on that student. If the student is
  under 18, the parents still retain the rights
  under FERPA at the high school and may inspect
  and review any records sent by the postsecondary
  institution to the high school .

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FERPA Quiz

• TRUE / FALSE
• 2. An institution may release course and billing
  information to the parent if the parent pays the
  students tuition.

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FERPA Quiz

• One of the parents must claim the student on
  income tax have a signed form in the Admissions
  and Records Office.

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FERPA Quiz

• TRUE / FALSE
• 3. In cases of divorce, educational records may
  only be disclosed to the parent who claims the
  student as a dependent for income tax purposes.

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FERPA Quiz

• Neither the age of the student nor the parent's
  status as a custodial parent is relevant. If a
  student is claimed as a dependent by either
  parent for tax purposes, then both parents have
  access under this provision

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FERPA Quiz

• TRUE / FALSE
• 4. An institution can provide confidential
  academic information to the spouse of a student
  without the students prior written consent if
  they file federal income taxes jointly.

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FERPA Quiz

• False

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FERPA Quiz

• TRUE / FALSE
• 5. An institution must provide copies to a
  student of his or her academic records if
  requested in writing to do so.

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FERPA Quiz

• The Institution is generally required to give
  copies only if failure to do so would effectively
  deny access an example would be a student or
  former student who does not live within commuting
  distance.
• Schools may not destroy records if a request for
  access is pending.

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FERPA Quiz

• TRUE / FALSE
• _____6. An institution that designates certain
  types of information as directory information
  must offer a student the opportunity to decline
  to have the information about the student so
  designated.

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FERPA Quiz

• True The student will need to complete a form
  in the Admissions and Records office to restrict
  access.

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QUESTIONS

•  
• Do you inform them of their daughters grades?
•   
• What is your rationale for that decision?
•   
• If you do not grant their request, what options
  do you discuss with the parents?