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Who cares
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Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to higher education
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to notification of certain parental rights under the federal family educational rights and privacy act
Purpose
To provide that colleges shall annually notify parents of certain rights under the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends the Education Law by adding a new section 225-a to provide that colleges shall notify parents annually of their rights under FERPA before the start of the academic year. Colleges shall notify parents of the right of a student eighteen years or older to designate a parent or guardian as someone who can request the student's records from the college.
Section 2 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
Existing law
Under current law there is no provision for notifying parents of their rights under FERPA.
Justification
Under the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), rights are assigned to parents when a child is under eighteen years of age. When a child turns eighteen, rights under FERPA transfer to that child. Many parents and students are not aware that they can designate a parent or guardian to request records from the school.
There are certain instances when a parent may be able to see his or her child's records if that child is in college: if the student is claimed as a dependent of the parents for tax purposes, if there is a health or safety emergency involving that parent's son or daughter, if the student is under 21 and there is a violation of the college's law or policy concerning possession of a controlled substance or alcohol, or if a school official speaks to a parent and shares with the parent information based on personal knowledge or observation of the student. However, many students and parents are not aware of the designation of rights to request education records.
Many students and parents are not aware of what their rights are under FERPA when the student turns eighteen, and this would ensure that both parents and students have all the information they need every year.
Legislative history
New Bill
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.