Legal Clips, [November 2007]
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has issued simpler guidance for parents and educators aimed at clearing up widespread confusion about when information may be shared under the main federal student-privacy law. The document tries to help schools more easily identify students who pose a threat of violence and get preventive aid for them. The simpler guidance for understanding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) grew out of recommendations by federal officials that studied the fatal April 16 shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg, Va. A panel established by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine recommended that the U.S. Congress and ED consider changes to FERPA and its regulations to clarify confusing provisions of the law and to offer stronger protections for school officials over disclosures of student information. The department stopped short of that recommendation. Three brochures published by the department explain the agency’s interpretations in plain language. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said that providing materials that better explain the law was a necessary first step before determining whether FERPA needs to be amended by Congress or further clarified through new regulations from the department.
The brochure aimed at K-12 educators says that FERPA permits them to share their personal observations of a student with parents and law enforcement officials. The brochure also explains that K-12 educators may disclose any educational records, including personally identifiable information, to protect the health or safety of a student or other individuals. "I do think it’s going to be helpful as a reminder. It’s in a user-friendly format," said Elizabeth E. Ewing, the director of legal and policy services for the Virginia School Boards Association. But legislation pending in Congress could lead to new FERPA guidance. The Senate last month approved an amendment to an education spending bill that would require ED to issue updated guidance on the school privacy law within three months of the bill’s enactment. The provision, introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) would require the secretary of education to revise FERPA guidance issued in 2002 to incorporate lessons learned from the Virginia Tech shootings.
Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a report that indicates the most prevalent incidents of crime in schools and colleges are simple assaults, followed by drug violations and destruction of property. The report found that more than 3% of overall U.S. crime incidents reported from 2000 through 2004 to a federal data-collection system occurred in schools and colleges. That marks the first time the FBI has issued a report that examines detailed incident reports of criminal behavior in schools, the agency said. The FBI report includes incidents in K-12 schools and colleges, but doesn’t distinguish between them. The report cautions against making generalizations about the data, since increases in the number of offenses from year to year may be largely the result of more law-enforcement agencies using the reporting system, rather than evidence that certain school-based crimes are becoming more prevalent. Many observers associate school violence with high-profile shooting incidents, such as the ones at Virginia Tech or the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado. But the statistics show that far more frequently, school crime involves incidents such as simple assaults, drug violations, vandalism, and theft.
Education Week By Alyson Klein
[Editor’s Note: The FERPA guidance, along with links to ED’s press release, letter from Secretary Spellings, and other resources, is available at the first link below, and the FBI crime report is at the second. Separate reports on the Virginia Tech shootings were issued by federal officials and by the panel formed by Gov. Kaine; both reports addressed privacy issues, and both are available below. For more background, see the excerpt from the Washington Post at the NSBA link.
One issue addressed briefly in the new guidance that has raised considerable uncertainty is how FERPA applies to footage from school video cameras. The guidance notes that images from equipment maintained by a school’s "law enforcement unit" are not protected "education records" under FERPA and adds, "Schools that do not have a designated law enforcement unit might consider designating an employee to serve as the ‘law enforcement unit’ in order to maintain the security camera and determine the appropriate circumstances in which the school would disclose recorded images."]
ED FERPA guidance
FBI report
Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy
Report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel
NSBA School Law pages on Virginia Tech shooter