Using data from twenty-one interviews conducted with student affairs practitioners within a constructivist grounded theory study, we examined how legal issues influence the daily work of student affairs professionals. Findings demonstrate that concerns about legal issues may intrude on student-centered practice, which participants identified as a…

Schools generate and maintain numerous student records, including grades, standardized test scores, disciplinary accounts, contact information, mental health records, and more. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which applies to educational agencies and institutions that receive certain types of financial assistance from the…

Education, Big Data, and student privacy are a combustible mix. The improvement of education and the protection of student privacy are key societal values. Big Data and Learning Analytics offer the promise of unlocking insights to improving education through large-scale empirical analysis of data generated from student information and student…

The administration of college admissions examinations by SEAs [state education agencies] and LEAs [local education agencies] raises potential legal issues under FERPA [Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974], IDEA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act], PPRA [Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment], and state privacy laws, and…

Social work students increasingly are served by distance education, which necessitates the use of creative and innovative online teaching methods. An instructor embarking upon online teaching should consider interpersonal and technical issues, be familiar with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, and understand other legal…

In response to the February 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, President Donald Trump established the Federal Commission on School Safety to review safety practices and make meaningful and actionable recommendations of best practices to keep students safe. The Commission conducted field visits,…

Recent efforts to change the teaching profession and teacher preparation include a number of innovations to use portfolio assessment, value added measures (VAM), accountability metrics and other corporate education reform ideas. These approaches may provoke considerable potential legal consequences. Traditional constitutional and civil rights…

As a hybrid between a college or university student and an elementary or secondary school employee, the student teacher is in a special situation. The potential for being a plaintiff (the party who sues), the defendant (the party who is sued), or a third party that is integrally involved in a lawsuit is higher because the bodies of law pertinent…

Those who come in contact with students at the post-secondary level face a myriad of potential legal challenges in their interactions with students and others. All members of the academic community should be familiar with the more common legal issues and to plan accordingly to avoid future problems. This article explores FERPA in the classroom,…

Administrators in public schools are undoubtedly familiar with their duties under federal law to serve students with disabilities in the educational program. Far fewer, however, are aware of their legal obligations to these same students in after-school athletics and extracurricular activities. Are students with disabilities entitled to…

The purpose of this document is to provide charter school authorizers with targeted technical assistance related to special education in charter schools. Charter school laws are unique to each state, and they provide a wide range of policies and practices for the hundred of authorizers chartering schools nationally. As a result, providing…

Explains the new obligations imposed on school officials by federal legislation on student records reflected in this bill under the Education Amendments of 1974. (Author/JF)

Reports that universities are citing a 26-year-old federal law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), to withhold information about teaching assistants from the unions trying to organize them. The graduate students say FERPA is being misapplied to squelch their organizing drives. Both students and administrators are quoted…

Describes four legally sensitive scenarios involving student access to the Internet and recommends appropriate strategies to assist principals in reducing exposure to legal action. (PKP)

Noting the philosophy behind the issue of individual privacy, the author reviews federal legislation (the 1973 Health, Education, and Welfare Report; the Privacy Act of 1974; C.H.R. 1984 designed to extend provisions of the Privacy Act to the private sector) and state legislation, concluding with suggested guidelines for future legislation. (JT)