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A SUMMARY OF THE BUCKLEY AMENDMENT
(FAMILY EDUCATIONAL AND PRIVACY RIGHTS ACT)
%20 U.S.C. SEC. 1232G (1982)

Paul S. Wallace, Jr.
Legislative Attorney

American Law Division
October 10, 1984

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O10-103941 

                                  

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A SUMARY OF THE BUCKLEY AMENDMENT
(FAMILY EDUCATIONAL AND PRIVACY RIGHTS ACT)
20 U.S.C. SEC. l232G (1982)

BACKGROUND

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was initially passed by
Congress in August 1974, as an amendment to the Federal Education Amendments Act
of 1974. The amendment was introduced by Senator James Buckley, and continues to
be referred to by many as the Buckley Amendment. President Ford signed the leg-
islation into law on August 21, 1974 and signed amendments to the Law affecting
higher education on December 31, 1974.

Prior to the legislation, some school systems had considered student records
as the property of the school and had restricted parental access to them, while
at the same time providing the records as a matter of course to third parties,
such as prospective employers and government agencies. when parents did gain
access to the records, they sometimes found inaccurate and misleading information
about their children. As a result, the National Committee for Citizen in Educa-
tion brought to Congress‘ attention the lack of privacy of student records and the

fact that parents generally could not have access to them or check their accuracy.

SUMMARY OF THE ACT

The Act provides parents (or students who have reached the age of 18 (20
U.S.C. § 1232g(d)(l982)) with the right to:

1) Inspect all personally identifiable information about the
student maintained anywhere and in any form by the school system
or university (20 U.S.C. § 1232g (4)(A));

CRS-2

2) Challenge information in the records which they consider
inappropriate, inaccurate, or misleading, or which violates the
privacy or other rights of the student, and request amendment or
deletion (Privacy Rights of Parents and Students Guidelines, 34
C.F.R. 5 99.20 (l982)); and

3) Provide or withhold written consent prior to the disclosure
of the records of any individual, agency, or organization outside
the school system (34 C.F.R. § 99.30). (Certain "directory
information may be released unless the parent objects.)

The law deals primarily with required procedures and leaves the details of
implementation to local school officials (34 C.F.R. § 99.5). The law requires
that the schools provide annual notification to parents of their rights under
the FERPA (34 C.F.R. § 99.6), make available a list of all student records kept
by the school (34 C.F.R. § 99.5 (iv)), the location of the records (34 C.F.R.
§ 99.5(iv)), the means of parent notification (34 C.F.R. § 99.5(a)(1)), and the
procedures for seeing records and releasing them to third parties (34 C.F.R.
§ 99.5(a)(J)). The federal government may intervene following a written com-
plaint by parents, primarily to ensure that the procedures required by law are
being followed (34 C.F.R. § 99.63).

One of the policy considerations raised when FERPA was being considered was
whether the Act would represent the proper balance between the parental/student
right to privacy and the demand for accountability of public institutions as
incoporated in freedom of information statutes. The FERPA resolved this conflict
by incorporating the "personally identifiable" principle (20 U.S.C. § l232g(b)
(1); 34 C.F.R. § 99.3)). Access by third parties to materials in personally
identifiable form is restricted but data may be compiled in an anonymous and
aggregate manner for purposes of public accountability (20 U.S.C. § l232g(b)).

The definition of "parent" in the FERPA regulations implies that both parents
have rights under the law unless "there is a state law or court order governing

such matters as divorce, separation, or custody, or a legally binding instrument

which provides to the contrary" (34 C.F.R. § 99.3).

CRS-3

Under section 99.3 of the Code of Federal Regulations, an educational’
institution is defined as "any public or private agency or institution which
is the recipient of funds under any Federal program referenced in section
99.1(a)," which includes schools receiving funds "under any Federal program
for which the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education has administrative
responsibility...."

Parents or eligible students may submit complaints about violations to the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Office, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20202, which is established within the Department of Education
(34 C.F.R. § 99.60). The FERA office is directed to investigate complaints and
notify schools of the specific steps they must take in order to comply voluntarily
with the legal requirements (34 C.F.R. § 99.63). If the school does not volun-
tarily comply, the matter is referred to the Review Board for a formal hearing.
(34 C.F.R- § 99.63). The ultimate enforcement mechanism is the withholding of

federal funds "until there is no longer any...failure to comply" (34 C.F.R.

§ 99.64).

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Paul S. Wallace, Jr.

Legislative Attorney

American Law Division
October 10, 1984