It's OK for School to Call Parents if a Student Breaks the Law
Dear CO-STAR:
Can a university call its students' parents if they are arrested? There's been an outbreak of arrests by the local police in the town near my college -- mostly for things like underage possession or consumption, public drunkenness and noise violations. Now the college is saying that they're going to start notifying the parents of any student that's arrested. To my knowledge, the college never did this before. I thought we were adults now and that the school couldn't release this kind of information.
- Tess, Sophomore, Public College or University, Oregon
Tess:
Hmmm, your comment, "mostly for things like underage possession or consumption, public drunkenness and noise violations," makes me wonder why your school's getting so angry. It sounds like you and your fellow classmates are running around downtown like wild animals. No wonder the school's playing the dreaded parent card.
And here's the bad news. It's a card that they have a right to play.
The law that governs student privacy is called the Family Education Right to Privacy Act, or FERPA. It's a fairly complicated (and poorly drafted in my opinion) statute. But at its heart it's pretty basic. It says that for college students over the age of 18 (in the case of minors, parents get access to all educational records, sorry kids) all "educational records" must be kept private.
What are "educational records" -- pretty much anything that identifies a student, so grades, disciplinary proceedings and most other things that say who you are and something of consequence about you are covered by FERPA.
But here's the bad news: There are a few VERY significant exceptions to FERPA. And one of them applies here. Part 99.31 (1) (15) (i) of the act authorizes, but doesn't require "the student's violation of any Federal, State, or local law, or of any rule or policy of the institution, governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance if (A) The institution determines that the student has committed a disciplinary violation with respect to that use or possession; and (B) The student is under the age of 21 at the time of the disclosure to the parent."
In plain language, if you break a law, or if you violate the school's alcohol policy, your college can call your parents. They're not REQUIRED to, but they can. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but, as I've said many times before, I don't write these laws, I just explain them.
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C.L. Lindsay III is the founding executive director of CO-STAR, the Coalition for Student & Academic Rights, and author of the book "The College Student's Guide to the Law: Get a Grade Changed, Keep Your Stuff Private, Throw a Police-Free Party and More!" in bookstores now. CO-STAR is a network of lawyers, professors and students who work to protect academic freedom and constitutional rights at college campuses nationwide. If you have a question for CO-STAR, log on to their Web site at www.co-star.org.
The material in this column addresses general legal issues only; is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such; and may or may not be appropriate to a specific situation. Laws and procedures change frequently and are subject to differing interpretations. This column is not intended to create, and does not create, a lawyer-client relationship and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.
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© 2007, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
