FERPA Applicability

[SeekingAnswers9]

The information technology department of my institution maintains electronic copies of student emails sent over the school's network. Are such records protected by FERPA?

 

[dmalone]

"Are such records protected by FERPA?"

You question is a bit vague? Are these records protected from who?

If you are asking if the school has a right to keep these records, then the answer is yes. You are using the schools equipment and they have the right to keep logs and copies of everything.

If you are asking if the school could possibly release these records to another party, then the answer is: it depends.

FERPA allows records to be released to:
1. School officials with legitimate educational interest;
2. Other schools to which a student is transferring;
3. Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
4. Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
5. Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
6. Accrediting organizations;
7. To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
8. Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
9 State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Otherwise, the answer is no. A parent or other individual who does not have any legitimate need for the records would not be able to get access to them.

 

[Law_Student]

Addition

As an additional comment to the previous reply, here is the link where you can find lots of information concerning FERPA:

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