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A 16-year-old in Tucson finds her full name, grade, and a photo from the volleyball team on a public page of the district website, along with her home address in a printed athletics program. Nobody asked her. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the federal law that protects school records, the school did not have to ask, because those facts fall into a category called 'directory information.' The same law gives her parents, or her once she turns 18, a way to stop it. The catch is a deadline that is easy to miss.
What counts as directory information
The federal regulation, 34 CFR 99.3, defines directory information as facts in a student's record that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Its list includes a student's name, address, telephone listing, email address, photograph, date and place of birth, grade level, dates of attendance, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of athletes, and honors and awards.
Each school district chooses which of these it will treat as directory information. One district may publish only names and grade levels. Another may include home addresses and photos. That choice is written in the district's annual FERPA notice, which is usually inside the student handbook or the back-to-school packet.
Two things are never directory information: grades and discipline records. A school also cannot use a Social Security number or student ID number as a key to release records without written consent.
The opt-out rule and its deadline
Under 34 CFR 99.37, a school may release directory information only after it gives public notice of three things: which items it has designated as directory information, the right of a parent or eligible student to refuse that designation for any or all of those items, and the period of time the family has to say no in writing. An 'eligible student' is a student who is 18 or in college; at that point the FERPA rights move from the parent to the student.
The deadline is the part that matters. If the form is not turned in by the date in the notice, the school may treat the information as public until a written opt-out arrives. An opt-out filed while a student is enrolled stays in force after the student leaves, unless the student cancels it.
One exception is written into the rule: a school can still require a student to wear or carry an ID badge showing directory-type information, such as a name and photo, even if the family opted out. And a separate federal law, 20 U.S.C. 7908, requires high schools that take federal funds to give military recruiters and colleges the name, address, and telephone listing of each student on request, unless a parent has submitted a written request that the school not release it without consent.
Why you cannot sue over FERPA
In Gonzaga University v. Doe (2002), the Court held that FERPA does not let a student sue a school for money over a records violation. The remedy is a complaint to the U.S. Department of Education, which can pull federal funding from a school that has a policy of breaking the law.
How to opt out this week
Find the district's annual FERPA notice. Search the district website for 'directory information' or 'FERPA notice,' or ask the front office for the form. Read the list of items and the deadline. Then write a short, dated letter or fill in the form, naming the student and stating which items should not be released. Keep a copy and note who received it.
You can opt out of some items and not others. A student who wants to be in the yearbook but not have a home address printed can say exactly that. If the deadline has passed, submit the form anyway; the school must honor it going forward.
If a school releases information after a valid opt-out, ask the principal in writing to correct it, then file a complaint with the Student Privacy Policy Office at the U.S. Department of Education through studentprivacy.ed.gov.
Da ricordare
- Directory information is a list of facts, like name, photo, and activities, that a school can publish without consent unless a family opts out in writing.
- Each district picks its own list and its own deadline; both are in the annual FERPA notice, usually in the student handbook.
- Grades and discipline records are never directory information, and an opt-out filed during enrollment stays in force after you leave.
- Gonzaga v. Doe (2002) means you cannot sue over FERPA; the route is the opt-out form and a complaint to the Department of Education.
Fonti
- Legal Information Institute: 34 CFR 99.3, Definitions (directory information) (si apre in una nuova scheda)
- Legal Information Institute: 34 CFR 99.37, Conditions for disclosing directory information (si apre in una nuova scheda)
- Legal Information Institute: 20 U.S.C. 7908, Armed Forces recruiter access to students (si apre in una nuova scheda)
- Legal Information Institute: Gonzaga University v. Doe (2002), syllabus (si apre in una nuova scheda)
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