FEA Webinar on
Student Records Law
David Nash, Esq.
NJPSA Legal Counsel
www.featraining.org
We are pleased to bring you this
FEA-developed program as an
NJPSA member benefit.
Topics to be Covered
Definition of Student Record
 Mandated Records
 Transfer of Discipline Records
 Parental Rights
 Adult Student Rights
 Disclosure of Information on Internet
 Access to Records
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Topics to be Covered (cont’d)
School Contact Directory for official use
 Student Information Directory
 Retention and Disposal of Records
 Pupil Information Collected in Classroom
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Definition of Student Record
N.J.A.C. 6A:32-2.1
 “Student Record” means any information
related to an individual student gathered
within or outside the school district and
maintained within the school district,
regardless of the physical form in which it
is maintained.
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Definition of Student Record
(cont’d)
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Essential in this definition is the idea that
any information that is maintained for the
purpose of second party review is
considered a student record. Therefore,
information recorded by any certified
school personnel solely as a memory aid,
not for the use of a second party, is
excluded from this definition.
Examples of student records
E-mail sent between two teachers discussing
the educational progress of a student or
strategies for helping the student improve
 Note it doesn’t matter if personal email used
 Notes from a guidance counselor that are
shared with a colleague or a school
administrator
 NOTE that notes that are kept strictly as
memory aid are not student records
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Mandated Records
N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.2
Student name, address, telephone number,
date of birth, name of parent(s), gender,
citizenship
 Standardized assessment and test answer
sheets (protocol), grades, attendance,
classes attended, grade level completed,
year completed
 Record of daily attendance
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Mandated Records (cont’d)
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Descriptions of student progress according
to the system of student evaluation used in
the district
History and status of physical health
including results of physical exams given by
qualified school district employees
Records required for students with
disabilities
Federal law now requires maintenance of
information on suspensions and expulsions
Other records required by law/board policy
Disciplinary Records
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Maintained as long as considered
educationally relevant by district
District may have policy to expunge records
if no discipline issues arise for period of time
District required to send disciplinary
records if student moves to another New
Jersey school district, or moves to a
nonpublic school
If student moves to another state, may send
disciplinary records if other state law
requires
Process for Transfer of Records
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N.J.S.A. 18A:36-19a requires supt. of new
district to request in writing student records
within 2 weeks from date student enrolls
District of last attendance must provide all
information in the record related to
disciplinary action AND notify receiving
district of information that sending district
has obtained information regarding juvenile
offenses
Written permission not required, just
written notice to parent
Access to Records
Parent (including non-custodial), adult
student, emancipated student
 Certified school personnel who have
assigned educational responsibility (but
not to health records), including
personnel at state approved private
school for disabled, state facility,
nonpublic school where special
education student placed
 District board of education to fulfill role
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Access to Records (cont’d)
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Secretarial and clerical personnel for data
entry and routine clerical tasks
DYFS
Others upon presentation of court order
In connection with an emergency, may
release health records to protect immediate
health or safety of the student or other
persons
Access to school contact directory for
official use and student information
directory
Student Information Directory
Includes name, grade level, date and place
of birth, dates of school attendance, major
field of study, participation in official
activities, weight and height related to
athletic team membership, degrees,
awards, most recent educational agency
attended
 Right to limit access to directory, such as
prohibiting military recruiter access
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School Contact Directory
for official use
See N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.2
Separate and apart from Student Information
Directory
 Access to judicial and law enforcement
personnel and medical personnel currently
providing services
 Verify enrollment, name, address, telephone
number, date of birth
 Must inform district in writing if parent
wishes to exclude any information from this
directory
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Parental & Adult Student Rights
District must notify parents and adult
students annually in writing of rights
regarding student records
 Right to request amendment to records if
believed to be inaccurate
 Emancipated minor has same rights as
parent or adult student
 Right to be informed about “that portion of
another student’s record that contains
information about his or her own child”
under N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.1 (example child
bullied by another student)
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Parent Rights (cont’d)
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Right to access records within 10 days of
request, but prior to any hearing
Right to a 10-day period to submit
statement prohibiting release of information
to military recruiters. Note that military
recruiters otherwise given same access as
higher ed.
Right to exclude information from the
“school directory for official use” and
restrict access to “student information
directory”
Rights of Non-Custodial Parent
Same rights as the custodial parent, unless
rights have been terminated pursuant to a
court order
 Note that a Court Order is signed by a
judge
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◦ Different from a subpoena which can be
signed by an attorney
Disclosure of Information on
Internet
N.J.S.A. 18A:36-5, signed in 2002, prohibits
disclosure of personally identifiable
information on the Internet without prior
written consent.
 “Personally identifiable information” includes
student names, photos, addresses, email
addresses, phone numbers, locations and
times of class trips
 Problem areas – student photos, location and
time of class trips
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Retention and Disposal
May choose to dispose of educational
records that are no longer educationally
relevant while student is still enrolled in
school, but only after written parent
permission or reasonable attempts to
secure permission
 Upon graduation, notify parent in writing
of right to copy of entire student record
 Must keep mandated records for 100
years
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Summary
Understand and respect parent rights
 Ensure Security of Records
 Be careful about unwittingly creating
student records
 Recognize recent changes in law regarding
student discipline records, information
collected in the classroom, use of email,
etc.
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Q &A
For more information about training
opportunities, contact Jay Doolan:
jdoolan@njpsa.org
609-860-1200
Foundation for Educational
Administration
12 Centre Drive
Monroe Township, NJ 08831