Federal law, commonly known as FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. Section 1232g; 34 C.F.R. Part 99 et seq.) or the Buckley Amendment, regulates the disclosure as well as the rights and responsibilities of students and institutions of higher education with respect to student eduction records. The law applies to all colleges and universities that receive funds under an applicable programs of the U.S. Department of Education. It is designed to ensure students have a right of access to their educational records and protect those records from disclosure to third parties.
In compliance with this law, Texas Southern University may release information to the general public that may be thought of as “directory information” without the written consent of the student. However, students may request that this information be withheld from the public by giving written notice to the Registrar’s Office. “Directory information” includes the following: (1) name, (2) address, (3) telephone number, (4) date and place of birth, (5) weight and height of members of the athletic teams, (6) participation in officially recognized activities and sports, (7) dates of attendance, (8) educational institution most recently attended, and (9) other information (such as major field of study, degrees earned, and awards received). Students desiring to have “directory information,” as specified above, withheld from the public should give written notice of this desire to the Registrar’s Office during the first twelve (12) days of class during a regular semester (fall or spring) or the first four (4) days of class during a summer term. These written notices must be transmitted in person. No transcript or other academic or disciplinary record related to an individual student will be released without the written consent of the student for such a release, except as specified by law.
These laws also require the University to notify the student prior to complying with a lawfully issued subpoena for student records, unless the subpoena directs otherwise. The University will attempt to contact the student allowing 14 days from the date of the letter for the student to file a motion to quash the subpoena, unless the subpoena directs otherwise.
The materials listed below provide general information regarding FERPA:
34 C.F.R. Part 99-
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title34/34cfr99_main_02.tpl
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (U.S. Department of Education)-
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html
FERPA and Campus Safety-
http://www.nacua.org/nacualert/docs/FERPA/ferpa.pdf
FERPA Training Module-
FERPA Basic Training Module (December 2012)
December 2011 Revised FERPA Regulations:
An Overview for Parents and Students-https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/index.html