FERPALITIGATIONARTICLE
006
If a subpoena or court order is issued for the records or
information, the educational institution/agency must give
notice to the student/parent prior to complying with the
subpoena or court order. This notice provides the student/
parent the opportunity to lodge an objection to the subpoena or
court order.
EXAMPLE: Plaintiff submits a Request for Production
to Defendant community college district requesting the
schedules, grades and transcripts of all students enrolled in
two specific college courses. The records are relevant pursuant
to the Rules of Civil Procedure. How should the Defendant
respond?
Defendant should, initially, object to producing the requested
records as follows:
Objection. The information requested meets the definition
of education records as defined by the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. ยง1232g.
Specifically, education records are records maintained by
the educational institution containing information directly
related to a student. The definition of education records
is intended to be broad in scope. United States v. Miami
University, 91 F.Supp.2d 1132, 1149 (S.D. Ohio 2000), affirmed
294 F.3d 797 (6th Cir.2002).
[Defendant] is precluded, pursuant to FERPA, from
releasing education records of any of its students without
the consent of the student or a lawfully served subpoena
or order of the court; this is an affirmative obligation of
the educational institution. Id. In the event [Defendant] is
lawfully served with a subpoena or an order of the court,
prior to complying with the subpoena/order, [Defendant]
must notify a