Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Florida State College at Jacksonville is committed to protecting the privacy of our student’s education records. To further that commitment, the College ensures that all faculty and staff are aware of state and federal laws, as well as College policies and procedures, that will ensure the confidentiality of student records.
What is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.
Florida State College at Jacksonville complies with the regulations governing the implementation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as amended.
Access to Education Records
Under this Act, a student will be accorded access to the student's record within a reasonable time after the submission of a written request to the custodian of that record. Suitable arrangements will be made by the College to permit the record to be reviewed in the presence of a representative of the custodian of the record.
Once a student becomes 18 or enrolls in a postsecondary program, parents no longer have any rights to student information under this Act unless the student completes and submits a FERPA Consent form to release the information to the student's parents.
Amendment of Education Records
A student has the right to challenge the content of any record he or she believes to be inaccurate, misleading, in violation of the student's rights or otherwise inappropriate, and to insert into the record any written explanation of any matter therein.
The custodian of the record challenged shall conduct a hearing upon the matter, at a reasonable time and place, at which time the student may present any evidence he or she may have in support of the challenge. If a record is challenged, the custodian of the record shall make a decision at the conclusion of the hearing. This decision may be appealed by the student through established procedures to the Student Appeals Review Committee.
Students have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. They may address their complaint to: Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605.
Disclosure of Education Records
Students must consent to the release of any student information other than directory information to any person or agency. The student must complete a FERPA Consent form.
Disclosure without consent will be exercised by Florida State College at Jacksonville to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is defined as a person employed by the college as an: administrative, supervisory, academic, support staff position (including safety and security staff), person employed by an educational entity with which the college has an educational agreement or contract who has a legitimate educational interest, person or company with whom the college contracted (such as auditor, collection agent, credential and enrollment verification services), or assisting another official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if he or she needs to review an educational record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
In addition, the college may disclose identifiable information from student educational records without student consent to officials presenting a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena, and to military branches in accordance with federal guidelines.
The following information about an individual student is classified as "directory information" and may be released upon request to any person. The individual student has a right to submit a request in writing to the custodian of the student's record that all or any part of the directory information not be releasable. Access to, or release of directory information will be withheld until further written instruction is received for a student.
Florida State College at Jacksonville defines directory information as follows:
- Student Name
- Program of Study
- Dates of Enrollment (Start and end dates of the period of attendance, not to individual class attendance records)
- Enrollment Status (active/inactive; full time/part time)
- Degrees, Honors and Awards Received
- For student athletes on our NJCAA-recognized teams: height, weight, hometown and high school from which the athlete graduated
Individual students have the right to submit a request in writing to the custodian of student records that all or part of the directory information NOT be released. Send request in writing to: College Registrar, Florida State College at Jacksonville, P.O. Box 40515, Jacksonville, FL 32203-0515 Access to or release of directory information will be withheld until further written instruction is received for a student.
Annual Notification of Rights
Under FERPA, a school must annually notify eligible students in attendance of their rights under FERPA. The annual notification for Florida State of College at Jacksonville is published in the Student Handbook.
Law Enforcement Units and Law Enforcement Unit Records
"Law enforcement unit records" (i.e., records created by the law enforcement unit, created for a law enforcement purpose, and maintained by the law enforcement unit) are not "education records" subject to the privacy protections of FERPA. As such, the law enforcement unit may refuse to provide an eligible student with an opportunity to inspect and review law enforcement unit records, and it may disclose law enforcement unit records to third parties without the eligible student's prior written consent. However, education records, or personally identifiable information from education records, which the school shares with the law enforcement unit do not lose their protected status as education records because they are shared with the law enforcement unit.