Four bills are pending in Congress to tighten access to student data under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. None of the measures appears to worsen journalists' access to public records from schools and colleges, but none addresses the well-documented misuse of FERPA to conceal campus scandals under the guide of "student privacy."
This article looks at the frustrating obstacles journalists often face in trying to obtain access to personnel-related records from college and schools. While the law sometimes entitles these agencies to withhold highly embarrassing or confidential documents, it’s an oversimplification to say – as many agencies do – that “personnel” is a blanket excuse for denying a public-records request.
At the University of Oregon, Vanderbilt University and the University of Montana, FERPA was cited to withhold records and information related to sexual assault allegations. FERPA was even cited at Florida State University to withhold records about Heisman-winning quarterback Jameis Winston, who has been accused of sexual assault in December 2012.
Texas law starts with the assumption that a requestor is owed records within 10 days. But asking the attorney general for an opinion stops the clock and can push the agency’s response time back by a month-and-a-half — which makes the process vulnerable to manipulation by an agency seeking to run out the clock on a deadline-sensitive request.
Chief justice Cody Coll told the student reporters that they could not photograph or record the court hearing Tuesday because it violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the federal student privacy law. The reporters were also asked to delete all information gathered before their dismissal from the court.
The bill would require the departments to report incidents of sexual assault to the local Commonwealth attorney within 48 hours of receiving the report, providing another avenue to access information about reported incidents.
President Obama said the legislation, which is modeled after a new law in California, is necessary as digital learning becomes more prominent in classrooms. Leading up to his State of the Union Address next week, the proposal was part of the president’s recent focus on cybersecurity and privacy.
As the prevalence of student data collection in educational institutions increases, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act’s use is once again in question. And while the proposed changes may not further restrict journalists’ access records, they also don’t alleviate any challenges.
Regulations adopted by the Department of Education with regards to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Regulations adopted by the Department of Education with regards to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.