Access
to Student Records Pursuant to the UPPS
No. 01.04.31
Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act Issue
No. 5
of
1974 Effective Date: 07/15/2009
Review:
April 1 E3Y
01. POLICY STATEMENTS
01.01 This UPPS sets forth university policy regarding access to student education records as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.A. section 1232g). This UPPS's references to FERPA are references to this act, which is also known as the "Buckley Amendment".
01.02 Related Laws and Policies: Additional information and guidance for complying with requests for information may be found in UPPS No. 01.04.00, Appropriate Release of Information.
02. DEFINITIONS
02.01 "Student education records" are records that are directly related to a student and are maintained by Texas State, or a party acting for Texas State.
02.02 "Student education records" do not
include:
a. Records that are kept in the sole possession of the person who made the record and are not revealed to others.
b. Records
of Texas State's University Police Department, subject to the provisions of 34
C.F.R., Section 99.8.
c. Records relating to an individual who is employed by Texas State that:
1) are
made and maintained in the normal course of business;
2) relate
exclusively to the individual in that individual's capacity as an employee; and
3) are
not available for use for any other purpose.
d. Records
relating to an individual in attendance at Texas State who is employed as a
result of his or her status as a student are student education records and not
exempted under Section 02.02 c.
e. Records
on Texas State students that are:
1) made or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting in his or her professional capacity or assisting in a paraprofessional capacity;
2) made,
maintained, or used only in connection with treatment of the student; and
3) disclosed
only to individuals providing the treatment. For the purpose of this
definition, "treatment" does not include remedial educational
activities or activities that are part of the program of instruction at Texas
State.
f. Records that only contain information about an individual after he or she is no longer a student at Texas State.
g. Grades on peer-graded papers (until collected and recorded).
03. PROCEDURES
FOR ANNUALLY NOTIFYING STUDENTS AND PARENTS OF THEIR FERPA RIGHTS
03.01 Texas State will inform students and parents of their rights under FERPA by: (1) having the information on the Registrar’s web site at: http://www.registrar.txstate.edu/persistent-links/ferpa.html and in the Registration Instructions Booklets at: http://www.registrar.txstate.edu/persistent-links/Registration-Instructions-booklets.html and (2) the Dean of Students placing a notice in the student handbook.
03.02 The
notice containing Texas State's policies is set forth in Attachment
I.
03.03 This policy and the notice may also be found in the library and they are accessible via the Texas State website. Copies of this policy and the notice are available to students via the Registrar's Office.
04. PROCEDURES
FOR PARENTS INSPECTING THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL RECORDS
04.01 A parent who desires to inspect his or her child's student education records (without the child's written consent) may do so if the child is a dependent student as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
04.02 A
parent should present an affidavit as shown in Attachment
II to the office that maintains the records. The office will make the
records accessible as provided by FERPA.
05. CHARGES FOR RECORDS
05.01 Texas
State may charge for copies of records as provided in UPPS No.
01.04.00, Appropriate Release of Information.
05.02 In
addition, Texas State may make the following charges for student education
records:
a. The Registrar may charge $5.00 for an official copy of a student's transcript.
b. Identification
Services may charge $10.00 for a student's
photograph. However, ID Services will
not charge school officials, as defined in Attachment
I, for photographs.
06. PROCEDURES
FOR RELEASE OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION
06.01 Texas State will not release
personally identifiable information in a student education record without the
student's prior written consent except under one or more of the conditions
described in 34 C.F.R. Section 99.31 which may be found at http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/reg/ferpa/index.html.
06.02 School
officials who handle student education records should respect the private
nature of those records and secure them from unauthorized disclosure. Since
computer records are especially vulnerable, those who maintain these records
should take special security measures. Examples of confidential records include
transcripts, grades, grade point averages, test scores, academic and
disciplinary status, health information, personal and family financial
information, and placement file recommendations and ratings.
06.03 Each designated information owner will maintain a record
of disclosures as required by 34 C.F.R. Section 99.32 and a student or eligible
parent may inspect these records.
07. ASSESSMENT
07.01 At least every five years, the Office of Audit and Compliance will conduct a security assessment audit of those offices maintaining student education records and recommend policy and procedural changes based on the results of that audit.
08. REVIEWERS
OF THIS UPPS
08.01 Reviewers
of this UPPS include the following:
Position Date
University Attorney April 1
E3Y
Registrar April 1 E3Y
09. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
This
UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official
capacities and represents Texas State policy and procedure from the date of
this document until superseded.
University
Attorney; senior reviewer of this UPPS
Special
Assistant to the President
President