FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT

RELEASING STUDENT RECORDS WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT

A. Releasing Education Records Without a Student’s Prior Written Consent

Student records are protected from unauthorized disclosure pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Under most circumstances, non-directory student information may not be released to any requesting third-party without first obtaining the student's prior written consent. Notwithstanding, FERPA provides a number of exceptions to the prior consent rule, including the following:

• Release of Directory Information – Student information designated as “directory information” may be released without obtaining a student’s prior written consent. Directory information is defined under federal regulations as including: the student's name, address, telephone listing, electronic mail address, photograph, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, grade level, enrollment status (e.g., undergraduate or graduate; full-time or part-time), participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, degrees, honors and awards received, and the most recent educational agency or institution attended. Each College must notify its students through its Annual FERPA Notification as to what information it designates as directory information. A student may request that his/her College not release directory information. Such a request shall be in writing and retained in the student’s file.

• Subpoena or Court Order – Prior to responding to a subpoena or court order, a College must first inform the subject student of the subpoena for his/her records and afford the student a reasonable period of time to seek to quash the subpoena before complying with it. Generally, after 7 days following notice to the student, unless a court has ordered the College not to release the records, the College shall release the records in compliance with the subpoena or court order.

• Search Warrant - No prior consent is required when a College is served with a search warrant. Furthermore, because a search warrant is effective when served, a College must immediately grant access to the requested student records. Access may not be delayed pending notification to the subject student.

• Health or Safety Emergency – Records may be released without prior consent when an imminent health or safety emergency exists.

• Ex Parte Order – No consent is required when a college is served with an ex parte order by the U.S. Attorney General or a related governmental official in connection with an investigation or prosecution of terrorism crimes.

• Law Enforcement Records – Law enforcement records maintained by a college’s law enforcement department are not educational records. Consequently, they do not fall within the protective purview of FERPA and may be released without a student’s prior written consent.

• I-20 Consent – (Applicable only to international students) The INS I-20 form contains the following statement: “I also authorize the named school to release any information from my records which is needed by the INS pursuant to 8 CFR 214.3(g) to determine my nonimmigrant status.” Information identified under 8 CFR 214.3(g) include the following: name, date and place of birth, country of citizenship, address, status (full-time or part-time), date of commencement of studies, degree program and field of study, beginning and ending dates of any authorized practical training, termination date and reason (if known), the documents the school needed to review in order to issue an I-20, the number of credits completed each semester, and a photocopy of the student’s I-20. By signing an I-20, international students consent to the release of the above-noted information to INS without the student’s prior written consent.

B. Protocol for Releasing Educational Records Information

1. Phone Call Request

Unless a verifiable emergency exists, non-directory student information shall not be released in response to a phone request from a third-party. Such information may be released to a student seeking his/her own educational record information after proper verification of the student’s identification is obtained.

2. In Person Request

When circumstances exist permitting the disclosure of non-directory student information to a third party, the following steps shall be considered before releasing any information:

• Request identification from the requesting party
• Make copy of identification
• Request phone number and the name of requester’s supervisor
• Contact requester’s supervisor if further identification verification is necessary
• College personnel shall contact his/her departmental supervisor
• If a subpoena is presented no information shall be released until the student notice procedure has been complied with. Also, personnel shall verify that the document is a lawfully issued subpoena (proper signatures, case caption and reference number, notarized, specific court of jurisdiction identified)
• If a search warrant is presented it must be immediately complied with
• Personnel shall simultaneously contact their departmental supervisor
• Legal Counsel may be contacted for guidance

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