[Oacrao-l] FW: Dual Enrollment & FERPA

Tue Oct 21 14:48:03 CDT 2014

To those attending the FERPA session at the Legal Issues Conference at OU on September 30 (and those expressing interest in the response):

See below, especially the highlighted area, for feedback from the FPCO regarding the signing/non-signing for records access to dual-enrolled/concurrent student information.

Redlands response to the feedback, we likely will reword the bottom of our concurrent application as follows (pending proper approval of course):
I have read and understand the provisions set forth by my high school and Redlands Community College for my concurrent enrollment.  I understand that Redlands and my high school may exchange my educational record information as needed as part of my concurrent enrollment.  My signature indicates that I agree to the terms of payment outlined in the college catalog.
_____   I, the student, am over 18 years of age AND am not a dependent of my parent(s)/legal guardian(s) for legal purposes.
_____   I, the student, am under 18 years of age OR am still a dependent of my parent(s)/legal guardian(s) for legal purposes.

X (student signature line)

I have read and understand the provisions set forth by the high school and Redlands Community College for my child's concurrent enrollment.  Signature indicates that you agree to the terms of payment as outlined in the college catalog.  Parent(s) and legal guardian(s) only sign if the student is under 18 years of age OR is still a dependent for legal purposes.

X (parent signature line)

Hope this helps those who had concurrent signature questions in re FERPA.

Troy Milligan

Director, Institutional Research & Effectiveness
and NASNTI/ANBI Technology Specialist

Board of Directors Member
POISE Users Group (2007-2011; 2014-present)

Redlands Community College
1300 S. Country Club Road
El Reno, OK  73036-5304
Web: www.redlandscc.edu<http://www.redlandscc.edu/>

Phone:  405.422.1206
FAX:  405.422.1204
Email:  troy.milligan at redlandscc.edu<mailto:troy.milligan at redlandscc.edu>

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From: FERPA [mailto:FERPA at ed.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2014 2:12 PM
To: jcruz at osrhe.edu; Troy Milligan; cbrown at osrhe.edu; jrimmer at macu.edu
Subject: Dual Enrollment & FERPA

This is in response to your question posed to Kathleen Styles at the Legal Issues in Higher Education Conference on September 30th.  Specifically, you explained that almost a third of the students at some community colleges in Oklahoma are high school students.  You stated that the community colleges are requiring the students, as a condition of enrollment, to authorize the disclosure of the applicants' high school grades and/or other information to the colleges.  You wondered if this practice was legal under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

This office administers FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) and through FERPA at ed.gov<mailto:FERPA at ed.gov> we provide school officials with brief, informal responses to routine questions about FERPA.  You may also find helpful information on our website:  www.ed.gov/fpco<http://www.ed.gov/fpco>.

FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of students' education records.  The term "education records" means those records that are:  (1) directly related to a student; and (2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.  See § 99.3 "Education records."  At the postsecondary level, FERPA affords students ("eligible students") the right to have access to their education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of information from the records.

Under FERPA, an educational agency or institution is prohibited from disclosing personally identifiable information (PII) from students' education records, without consent, unless the disclosure meets an exception to FERPA's general consent requirement.  See 34 CFR § 99.30 and § 99.31.  Here is a link to the FERPA regulations on our website:  http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/reg/ferpa/index.html.

Obtaining consent from applicants for this disclosure is unnecessary and in some cases may not be compliant with FERPA.  For instance, in order for a high school to disclose PII from a student's education records, the parent would have to provide consent if the student is under 18 years old.  However, in the case of students who are dually-enrolled in high school and college, you do not need to have consent.  Section 99.34(b) of the FERPA regulations permits high schools and postsecondary institutions that have dually-enrolled students to share education records without the consent of either the parent or the student.

The question we most commonly get is whether parents must be given access to the education records of dually-enrolled students at a college.  We addressed this in the 2008 Federal Register notice:

"With regard to the comment about high school students who are concurrently enrolled in postsecondary institutions as early as ninth grade, FERPA not only permits those postsecondary institutions to disclose information to parents of the high school students who are dependents for Federal income tax purposes, it also permits high schools and postsecondary institutions who have dually-enrolled students to share information. Where a student is enrolled in both a high school and a postsecondary institution, the two schools may share education records without the consent of either the parents or the student under § 99.34(b). If the student is under 18, the parents still retain the right under FERPA to inspect and review any education records maintained by the high school, including records that the college or university disclosed to the high school, even though the student is also attending the postsecondary institution."  See 73 FR 4806, 4813 (December 9, 2008).

We trust this is responsive to your inquiry.  Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Ellen Campbell
Family Policy Compliance Office

Redlands Community College provides a learner-centered environment committed to academic excellence strengthened through service and civic engagement.

**CONFIDENTIALITY** - This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential, proprietary, and/or privileged information and is intended only for the individual(s) addressed in the message. If you are not the named addressee, you should not disseminate, distribute, or copy this e-mail. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, and delete this message and any attachments from your system. Any unauthorized disclosure or use of this information is prohibited. Information contained herein may be subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), and/or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
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