The evolution of the resident assistant position and its history are important to understanding its increasing complexities. In this article we examine how court cases and federal legislation, along with changes in popular culture, have altered and shaped the role of the resident assistant. Our premise is that this role, originally relatively…

This case focuses on how an administrator at an Alabama high school interpreted the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Specifically, the administrator had to determine whether a notebook should or should not be turned over to a student's parents. The notebook, which was confiscated by a school resource officer, contained journal…

In this chapter, the author addresses one important issue of contemporary campus life: parental involvement in the lives of today's college students. There seems to be broad consensus that the institution-parent relationship is changing, and at its most extreme manifestations presents the helicopter parent phenomenon. However, it is important not…

This monograph is divided into three main sections: theoretical grounding, student identity, and implications. The first section, theoretical grounding of parental involvement, looks at the reasons parents today are more likely to be involved in their students' lives and then reviews the literature of K-12 education and compares that information…

The ways in which parents and students can exercise their rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act are discussed in this booklet. The Act, also known as the Buckley Amendment, gives all parents and guardians of students under 18 years of age and all students who are over 18 or who attend postsecondary schools the right to see,…

This book explores parents' legal rights concerning their children's elementary and secondary education. Besides certain constitutional rights (including parents' right to direct their children's education), parents and students have been granted various rights under state and federal statutes. This book aims to demystify the law and provide…

Reality and the law are forcing us to reexamine the social concepts of privacy as linked to individual rights, and disclosure as an institutional duty. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Buckley Amendment) establishes the right of parents to have access to their children's school records and to challenge the accuracy and…

This document provides a variety of materials concerned with confidentiality issues in special education and suggested activities for using the materials in staff development. The first item is a list of 13 general rules for maintaining confidentiality in the internal communications of a school or school system. The second item is a list of 10…

Discusses provisions of the Federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which establishes rules governing release of information from education records, and the sections of the law absolving the school, in cases of child abuse and neglect, from the parental consent requirement when disclosing school records to appropriate authority. (MF)

This report discusses federal regulations requiring parental consent before schools access Medicaid reimbursement for services provided to students with disabilities. It begins by explaining that in 1988, the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act allowed Medicaid to pay for covered medical services provided to Medicaid-enrolled children with special…

This article addresses issues of confidentiality and the management of student records as affected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy act (FERPA). It identifies violations of FERPA and relates FERPA to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (DB)

This article presents a complaint and a defense in a hypothetical case concerning confidentiality of the records of a student with emotional disturbance, in the context of two federal laws: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A judicial analysis of the arguments concludes that no…

This legal primer on violence in schools addresses the responsibility of school officials to respond to undisciplined youths whose behavior threatens the welfare and safety of other children in attendance. It is broken down into sections that provide a brief overview of the key rules and guidelines for school officials and teachers in each topic…

Fall 2005 enrollment data show approximately 73,000 students under the age of 18 enrolled in California community colleges. Given that students under the age of 18 are legally considered minors, community college faculty and staff are often uncertain about their roles and responsibilities for these students. Laws governing the opportunities for…

Given the changes in higher education since 1974, especially those introduced by infusion of technology into admissions, registrar, bursar, financial aid, and advising functions, it is suggested that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 may be inadequate to address current college-student privacy issues. Additionally, colleges…