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Student-privacy bill could lead to lawsuits
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by Liv Swenson
Friday, October 10, 2003
College students may be looking at increased privacy when it comes to their private records, and colleges and universities could be expecting an amplified flow of lawsuits.
U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., introduced the bill in April. The bill would modify how colleges respond to accusations that they have released private personal information of students.
“This legislation will increase students’ privacy by creating a huge disincentive for colleges and universities to release records without a student’s expressed permission,” Andrews said.
The bill was proposed in response to an incident that occurred in Spokane, Wash., when a former student sued his university for releasing personal information that he believed cost him an employment opportunity.
The case was taken to the Supreme Court, where the verdict ruled in favor of the university.
Under the existing law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, students do not have the right to sue. The new bill would modify FERPA, making the consequences for violating its policies stricter.
“FERPA needs to be modified because the current law has no teeth. Currently, a student’s only remedy is to file a grievance, which may or may not sanction the university,” Andrews said. “The school is not held accountable for their action.”
Others, however, think the bill is unnecessary and that the current FERPA bill does not need any alterations because there have not been many situations where student privacy has been an issue.
Organizations like the American Council on Education see downsides of this bill, expressing concern that the new bill would cost colleges unnecessary litigation and settlement money. In addition, some think that under the bill, universities would see a flood of lawsuits.
“Most universities are extremely careful with this,” University of Wisconsin professor of journalism and mass communication Robert Drechsel said. “It certainly fits with the current fixation on privacy rights.”
Rep. Andrews believes if colleges are worried about any legal ramifications, they should simply abide by the law.
“Those colleges that refuse to honor a student’s privacy will be and should be sued under this law. [It] will not create new lawsuits for those schools that obey the law,” he said.
UW sophomore Emily Palmer thinks that, from a student vantage point, the bill makes sense.
“[Universities] don’t have the right to give out our information. It’s like a breach of trust in an unspoken relationship between the student and their school,” she said.
The bill will come under consideration next year, where Congress on it along with the Higher Education Reauthorization Bill.
