(a) A community college or community college district is not authorized to permit access to student records to any person without the written consent of the student or unless pursuant to judicial order, except that access may be permitted to the following:

(1) Officials and employees of the community college, if they have a legitimate educational interest to inspect a record.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In California Education Code 76243

  • Access: means a personal inspection and review of a record or an accurate copy of a record, or an oral description or communication of a record or an accurate copy of a record, and a request to release a copy of any record. See California Education Code 76210
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Student record: means any item of information directly related to an identifiable student, other than directory information, which is maintained by a community college or required to be maintained by any employee in the performance of his or her duties, whether recorded by handwriting, print, tapes, film, microfilm or other means. See California Education Code 76210

(2) Authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of the United States, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, an administrative head of an education agency, state education officials, or their respective designees or the United States Office of Civil Rights, where that information is necessary to audit or evaluate a state or federally supported education program or pursuant to a federal or state law, except that when the collection of personally identifiable information is specifically authorized by federal law, any data collected by those officials shall be protected in a manner that will not permit the personal identification of students or their parents by other than those officials, and any personally identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer needed for that audit, evaluation, and enforcement of federal legal requirements.

(3) Other state and local officials or authorities to the extent that information is specifically required to be reported pursuant to state law adopted prior to November 19, 1974.

(4) Officials of other public or private schools or school systems, including local, county, or state correctional facilities where educational programs are provided, where the student seeks or intends to enroll, or is directed to enroll, subject to the rights of students as provided in Section 76225.

(5) Agencies or organizations in connection with a student’s application for, or receipt of, financial aid, provided that information permitting the personal identification of students may be disclosed only as may be necessary for those purposes as to determine the eligibility of the student for financial aid, to determine the amount of the financial aid, to determine the conditions that will be imposed regarding the financial aid, or to enforce the terms or conditions of the financial aid.

(6) Accrediting organizations in order to carry out their accrediting functions.

(7) Organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, and improving instruction, if those studies are conducted in such a manner as will not permit the personal identification of students or their parents by persons other than representatives of those organizations and the information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose for which it is conducted.

(8) (A) Appropriate persons in connection with an emergency if the knowledge of that information is necessary to protect the health or safety of a student or other persons, or subject to any regulations issued by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

(B) A person, persons, agency, or organization permitted access to student records pursuant to this section shall not permit access to any information obtained from those records by any other person, persons, agency, or organization, except to the extent permitted under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) and state law, without the written consent of the student, provided that this subparagraph shall not require prior student consent when information obtained pursuant to this section is shared with other persons within the educational institution, agency or organization obtaining access, so long as those persons have a legitimate educational interest in the information.

(b) The alleged victim of any sexual assault or physical abuse, including rape, forced sodomy, forced oral copulation, rape by a foreign object, sexual battery, or threat or assault, or any conduct that threatens the health and safety of the alleged victim, which is the basis of any disciplinary action taken by a community college, shall be permitted access to that information. For the purposes of this subdivision, access to student record information shall be in the form of notice of the results of any disciplinary action by the community college and the results of any appeal, which shall be provided to the alleged victim within three days following that disciplinary action or appeal. The alleged victim shall keep the results of that disciplinary action and appeal confidential.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 7, Sec. 38. (SB 70) Effective March 24, 2011.)