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5 N.E. U. L.J. 15 (2013)
FERPA: When Is Bullying Considered a Health and Safety Emergency

handle is hein.journals/norester5 and id is 27 raw text is: NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY LAWJOURNAL FERPA: When Is Bullying Considered a Health and Safety Emergency? Tracey L. Schneider, Esq. I. Introduction The Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was originally enacted more than twenty-five years ago.' Unfortunately, over the years, some of FERPA's provisions have not stayed current with the health and safety emergencies that educational institutions face today. While educational institutions continually strive to be more proactive in avoiding such devastating events, they often find themselves inhibited by the information disclosure provisions of FERPA. Although FERPA contains a health or safety emergency exception to the consent to disclosure requirements,2 the exception language does not provide a clear definition of health and safety emergency. Educational institutions are presented with the predic- ament of releasing information that they believe will help avoid an emergency and protect students, and in doing so, face of a possible FERPA violation. The 2009 FERPA regulatory amendments and subsequent guid- ance issued by the United States Department of Education (USDOE) have provided some guidance and, perhaps more important, some flexibility.3 In fact, the guidance specifically states that: J.D., University of Richmond, 2004; B.S.B.A., University of Richmond, 2000. The author is the Board Attorney/In-House Counsel for the Stafford Township Board of Education. This article was previously presented at the Education Law Association Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois in Novembe, 2011 under the title: FERPA: THE UNIQUE ISSUES OF TODAY. 1 20 U.S.C. 1232g (2012) (originally enacted as The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-568, and commonly referred to as the Buckley Amendment). 2 20 U.S.C. 1232g(b) (1) (I); 34 C.FR. 5§ 99.31(a) (1), 9936 (2013). 3 U.S. DEP'T OF EDUC. FAMILY POLICY COMPLIANCE OFFICE, FAMILY EDUC. RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA) AND THE DISCLOSURE OF STUDENT INFO. RELATED TO EMERGENCIES AND DISASTERS (2010), available at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/pdf/ferpa-disaster-guidance.pdf [hereinafter FPCO 2010 GUIDANCE]; U.S. DEP'T OF EDUC. FAMILY POLICY VOL. 5 No. I

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