FERPA

“I want my students to practice peer editing and grading in the computer lab. They will read other students’ compositions and grade them based on a pre-defined rubric. One of the other teachers told me this was a violation of FERPA. I disagree. What does FERPA say about peer grading?”

Teachers and other school officials must be clear about the federal requirements in FERPA. To learn exactly how CFISD interprets FERPA, read on.

Enduring Understanding:

All school personnel are legally required to protect the confidentiality of student education records as defined in Texas Education Code §26.004.

Essential Questions:

What is FERPA?
What are the protections under FERPA to parents and students?
What is a student record as defined by FERPA?
Who may access student records?
What is the CFISD board policy related to FERPA?

What is FERPA?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students.“

http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

Protections under FERPA to parents or eligible students include the right to:

Inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.
Request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information. Every time the record is disclosed, the statement is disclosed also.
Personally identifiable information includes the student's name, address, social security number, student number, or the name or address of a student's parents or other family members. Personally identifiable information in education records may not be disclosed to other individuals without the parent's or eligible student's written consent. There are exceptions to this general rule. FERPA allows schools to disclose personally identifiable information without consent in a limited number of situations. (Source: Texas School Public Relations Association, Computers in the Classroom, Bracewell & Patterson, L.L.P., November 13, 2001.)

What about including student information in school directories for PTOs or Booster Clubs?

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, email address, date and place of birth, honors and awards, dates of attendance, photograph, participation in officially-recognized activities and sports, and other information that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy.
However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. If the parent or eligible student chooses not to have directory information disclosed, the student's personally identifiable information should not be included in the school directory.

What does FERPA classify as a student record?

Who may access student records?

According to FERPA, student records are those records directly related to a student that are maintained by an educational institution or a party acting for the institution. They include personally-identifiable material in any form, including:

üHandwritten or typewritten information
üTapes, film, or video
üComputer records
üAttendance records
üTest scores
üPsychological records
üApplication for admission
üHealth information
üTeacher & counselor evaluations

FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

üSchool officials with legitimate educational interest
üOther schools to which a student is transferring
üSpecified officials for audit or evaluation purposes
üAppropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student
üOrganizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school
üAccrediting organizations, such as the Texas Education Agency
üTo comply with a judicial order or lawfully-issued subpoena (school district must attempt to notify parent prior to release)
üAppropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies
üState and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law

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What court cases defined FERPA?

OWASSO ISD v. Falvo

Facts of the case:

vTeacher used peer grading
vStudent could call out their own score or walk to teacher’s desk and give score in confidence, though the score was still known by the peer grader
vTeacher recorded score in grade book
vParent asked school district to end the practice
vSchool district refused

The issues:

vDoes the grading system violate FERPA?
vDoes calling out the grade violate FERPA?

Judgments

Trial Court—granted judgment in favor of school district.

Rationale: Not a record “maintained by an educational agency” at the point graded or called out

Appeals Court—ruled in favor of parent

Rationale:

•Papers are educational records and, thus, the grading and calling out scores violate FERPA
•Unreasonable to say not a record one minute, then once recorded, it is.

US Supreme Court—ruled in favor of school district

Rationale:

•Student papers are not “maintained” by the school district
•Student graders are not acting for the school district
•Beyond what Congress intended
•FERPA implies that educational records are institutional records kept by a single custodian, such as a registrar

Final Ruling

Peer grading is OK

Students can grade each other's papers

Grades can be called aloud

Student papers are not educational records, can be disclosed

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Is the teacher’s grade book an educational record?

This question remains open. Consider the following:

It is maintained by the school district.
It contains information that is kept in a central file (Pinnacle).
It contains information directly related to students.

To avoid a violation of FERPA, the safest course is to consider the teacher's grade book to be an educational record.

What is the CFISD Board Policy related to FERPA?

School employees must not disclose student information from educational records to others.
School employees must refrain from disclosing student information known by virtue of their position.

For more information on district FERPA policy, visit the following websites on CFISD Board Policy.

Student Records FL (Legal)

Student Records: FL (Exhibit)

Student Records FL (Local)

Check-up Questions:

(Choose one) FERPA is an acronym for:
a. Friends of Educational Reform & Performance Assessments
b. Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act
c. Formal Education Reflections & Policy Actions
d. None of the above
(Choose one) Confidential student records under FERPA include:
a. Computer records
b. Health records
c. Test scores
d. All of the above
(True/False) In Owasso ISD v. Falvo, the Supreme Court ruled that peer grading and calling grades aloud are not acceptable in the classroom.
(True/False) Protections under FERPA allow parents to inspect and review their child's school records.
(True/False) FERPA allows student records to be disclosed if requested by a judicial order or lawfully-issued subpoena.

Have questions about FERPA?
Contact Teresa Hull (teresa.hull@cfisd.net)