House Bill 0633

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 633

        By Representative Alexander






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to student records; amending s.

  3         228.093, F.S.; authorizing the release of

  4         personally identifiable student records to the

  5         Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

  6         for purposes of the compulsory attendance

  7         driver's license eligibility requirements and

  8         to the Department of Children and Family

  9         Services for purposes of the Learnfare program

10         compulsory attendance requirements; clarifying

11         provisions relating to the release of directory

12         information; providing an effective date.

13

14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

15

16         Section 1.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section

17  228.093, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

18         228.093  Pupil and student records and reports; rights

19  of parents, guardians, pupils, and students; notification;

20  penalty.--

21         (3)  RIGHTS OF PARENT, GUARDIAN, PUPIL, OR

22  STUDENT.--The parent or guardian of any pupil or student who

23  attends or has attended any public school, area

24  vocational-technical training center, community college, or

25  institution of higher education in the State University System

26  shall have the following rights with respect to any records or

27  reports created, maintained, and used by any public

28  educational institution in the state.  However, whenever a

29  pupil or student has attained 18 years of age, or is attending

30  an institution of postsecondary education, the permission or

31  consent required of, and the rights accorded to, the parents

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 633

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  1  of the pupil or student shall thereafter be required of and

  2  accorded to the pupil or student only, unless the pupil or

  3  student is a dependent pupil or student of such parents as

  4  defined in 26 U.S.C. s. 152 (s. 152 of the Internal Revenue

  5  Code of 1954). The State Board of Education shall formulate,

  6  adopt, and promulgate rules whereby parents, guardians,

  7  pupils, or students may exercise these rights:

  8         (d)  Right of privacy.--Every pupil or student shall

  9  have a right of privacy with respect to the educational

10  records kept on him or her. Personally identifiable records or

11  reports of a pupil or student, and any personal information

12  contained therein, are confidential and exempt from the

13  provisions of s. 119.07(1).  No state or local educational

14  agency, board, public school, area technical center, community

15  college, or institution of higher education in the State

16  University System shall permit the release of such records,

17  reports, or information without the written consent of the

18  pupil's or student's parent or guardian, or of the pupil or

19  student himself or herself if he or she is qualified as

20  provided in this subsection, to any individual, agency, or

21  organization.  However, personally identifiable records or

22  reports of a pupil or student may be released to the following

23  persons or organizations without the consent of the pupil or

24  the pupil's parent:

25         1.  Officials of schools, school systems, area

26  technical centers, community colleges, or institutions of

27  higher learning in which the pupil or student seeks or intends

28  to enroll; and a copy of such records or reports shall be

29  furnished to the parent, guardian, pupil, or student upon

30  request.

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  1         2.  Other school officials, including teachers within

  2  the educational institution or agency, who have legitimate

  3  educational interests in the information contained in the

  4  records.

  5         3.  The United States Secretary of Education, the

  6  Director of the National Institute of Education, the Assistant

  7  Secretary for Education, the Comptroller General of the United

  8  States, or state or local educational authorities who are

  9  authorized to receive such information subject to the

10  conditions set forth in applicable federal statutes and

11  regulations of the United States Department of Education, or

12  in applicable state statutes and rules of the State Board of

13  Education.

14         4.  Other school officials, in connection with a

15  pupil's or student's application for or receipt of financial

16  aid.

17         5.  Individuals or organizations conducting studies for

18  or on behalf of an institution or a board of education for the

19  purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive

20  tests, administering pupil or student aid programs, or

21  improving instruction, if such studies are conducted in such a

22  manner as will not permit the personal identification of

23  pupils or students and their parents by persons other than

24  representatives of such organizations and if such information

25  will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose of

26  conducting such studies.

27         6.  Accrediting organizations, in order to carry out

28  their accrediting functions.

29         7.  For use as evidence in pupil or student expulsion

30  hearings conducted by a district school board pursuant to the

31  provisions of chapter 120.

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  1         8.  Appropriate parties in connection with an

  2  emergency, if knowledge of the information in the pupil's or

  3  student's educational records is necessary to protect the

  4  health or safety of the pupil, student, or other individuals.

  5         9.  The Auditor General in connection with his or her

  6  official functions; however, except when the collection of

  7  personally identifiable information is specifically authorized

  8  by law, any data collected by the Auditor General is

  9  confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1)

10  and shall be protected in such a way as will not permit the

11  personal identification of students and their parents by other

12  than the Auditor General and his or her staff, and such

13  personally identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer

14  needed for the Auditor General's official use.

15         10.a.  A court of competent jurisdiction in compliance

16  with an order of that court or the attorney of record pursuant

17  to a lawfully issued subpoena, upon the condition that the

18  pupil or student and the pupil's or student's parent are

19  notified of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance

20  therewith by the educational institution or agency.

21         b.  A person or entity pursuant to a court of competent

22  jurisdiction in compliance with an order of that court or the

23  attorney of record pursuant to a lawfully issued subpoena,

24  upon the condition that the pupil or student, or his or her

25  parent if the pupil or student is either a minor and not

26  attending an institution of postsecondary education or a

27  dependent of such parent as defined in 26 U.S.C. s. 152 (s.

28  152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954), is notified of the

29  order or subpoena in advance of compliance therewith by the

30  educational institution or agency.

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  1         11.  Credit bureaus, in connection with an agreement

  2  for financial aid which the student has executed, provided

  3  that such information may be disclosed only to the extent

  4  necessary to enforce the terms or conditions of the financial

  5  aid agreement. Credit bureaus shall not release any

  6  information obtained pursuant to this paragraph to any person.

  7         12.  Parties to an interagency agreement among the

  8  Department of Juvenile Justice, school and law enforcement

  9  authorities, and other signatory agencies for the purpose of

10  reducing juvenile crime and especially motor vehicle theft by

11  promoting cooperation and collaboration, and the sharing of

12  appropriate information in a joint effort to improve school

13  safety, to reduce truancy, in-school and out-of-school

14  suspensions, to support alternatives to in-school and

15  out-of-school suspensions and expulsions that provide

16  structured and well-supervised educational programs

17  supplemented by a coordinated overlay of other appropriate

18  services designed to correct behaviors that lead to truancy,

19  suspensions, and expulsions, and which support students in

20  successfully completing their education.  Information provided

21  in furtherance of such interagency agreements is intended

22  solely for use in determining the appropriate programs and

23  services for each juvenile or the juvenile's family, or for

24  coordinating the delivery of such programs and services, and

25  as such is inadmissible in any court proceedings prior to a

26  dispositional hearing unless written consent is provided by a

27  parent, guardian, or other responsible adult on behalf of the

28  juvenile.

29         13.  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor

30  Vehicles for purposes of the compulsory attendance driver's

31  license eligibility requirements of s. 322.091.

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  1         14.  The Department of Children and Family Services for

  2  purposes of the Learnfare program compulsory attendance

  3  requirements of s. 414.125.

  4

  5  This paragraph does not prohibit any educational institution

  6  from publishing and releasing to the general public directory

  7  information relating to a pupil or student if the institution

  8  elects to do so.  However, No school district or K-12

  9  educational institution shall release, to any individual,

10  agency, business, or organization which is not listed in

11  subparagraphs 1.-14. 1.-11., or to an individual student,

12  directory information relating to the student body in general

13  unless the school district or K-12 educational institution has

14  received the written consent of the student's parent or

15  guardian or a portion thereof unless it is normally published

16  for the purpose of release to the public in general.  Any

17  non-K-12 educational institution desiring to make making

18  directory information public shall give public notice of the

19  categories of information which it has designated as directory

20  information with respect to all pupils or students attending

21  the institution and shall allow a reasonable period of time

22  after such notice has been given for a parent, guardian,

23  pupil, or student to inform the institution in writing that

24  any or all of the information designated should not be

25  released. Prior to each release of directory information, any

26  school district or K-12 educational institution that intends

27  to make directory information public shall provide written

28  notification to the parent or guardian of each student whose

29  information will be released, listing the specific directory

30  information to be released and the individual, agency,

31  business, or organization to receive the information. If prior

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 633

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  1  written authorization from the parent or guardian is not

  2  obtained for that release of information, the information

  3  shall not be released.

  4         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

  5

  6            *****************************************

  7                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  8
      Authorizes the release of personally identifiable student
  9    records to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
      Vehicles for purposes of the compulsory attendance
10    driver's license eligibility requirements and to the
      Department of Children and Family Services for purposes
11    of the Learnfare program compulsory attendance
      requirements. Clarifies provisions relating to the
12    release of directory information.

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