(a) A school district shall not permit access to pupil records to a person without written parental consent or under judicial order except as set forth in this section and as permitted by Part 99 (commencing with Section 99.1) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(1) Access to those particular records relevant to the legitimate educational interests of the requester shall be permitted to the following:

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

(A) School officials and employees of the school district, members of a school attendance review board appointed pursuant to Section 48321 who are authorized representatives of the school district, and any volunteer aide, 18 years of age or older, who has been investigated, selected, and trained by a school attendance review board for the purpose of providing followup services to pupils referred to the school attendance review board, provided that the person has a legitimate educational interest to inspect a record.

(B) Officials and employees of other public schools or school systems, including local, county, or state correctional facilities where educational programs leading to high school graduation are provided or where the pupil intends to or is directed to enroll, subject to the rights of parents as provided in Section 49068.

(C) Authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of the United States, the United States Secretary of Education, and state and local educational authorities, or the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, if the information is necessary to audit or evaluate a state or federally supported educational program, or in connection with the enforcement of, or compliance with, the federal legal requirements that relate to such a program. Records released pursuant to this subparagraph shall comply with the requirements of Section 99.35 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

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

(E) Parents of a pupil 18 years of age or older who is a dependent as defined in Section 152 of Title 26 of the United States Code.

(F) A pupil 16 years of age or older or having completed the 10th grade.

(G) A district attorney who is participating in or conducting a truancy mediation program pursuant to Section 48263.5 of this code or § 601.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or participating in the presentation of evidence in a truancy petition pursuant to § 681 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(H) A district attorney’s office for consideration against a parent or guardian for failure to comply with the Compulsory Education Law (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 48200)) or with Compulsory Continuation Education (Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 48400)).

(I) (i) A probation officer, district attorney, or counsel of record for a minor for purposes of conducting a criminal investigation or an investigation in regards to declaring a person a ward of the court or involving a violation of a condition of probation.

(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, a probation officer, district attorney, and counsel of record for a minor shall be deemed to be local officials for purposes of Section 99.31(a)(5)(i) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(iii) Pupil records obtained pursuant to this subparagraph shall be subject to the evidentiary rules described in § 701 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(J) A judge or probation officer for the purpose of conducting a truancy mediation program for a pupil, or for purposes of presenting evidence in a truancy petition pursuant to § 681 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The judge or probation officer shall certify in writing to the school district that the information will be used only for truancy purposes. A school district releasing pupil information to a judge or probation officer pursuant to this subparagraph shall inform, or provide written notification to, the parent or guardian of the pupil within 24 hours of the release of the information.

(K) A county placing agency when acting as an authorized representative of a state or local educational agency pursuant to subparagraph (C). School districts, county offices of education, and county placing agencies may develop cooperative agreements to facilitate confidential access to and exchange of the pupil information by email, facsimile, electronic format, or other secure means, if the agreement complies with the requirements set forth in Section 99.35 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(L) A pupil 14 years of age or older who meets both of the following criteria:

(i) The pupil is a homeless child or youth, as defined in paragraph (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2)).

(ii) The pupil is an unaccompanied youth, as defined in paragraph (6) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 11434a(6)).

(M) An individual who completes items 1 to 4, inclusive, of the Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit, as provided in § 6552 of the Family Code, and signs the affidavit for the purpose of enrolling a minor in school.

(N) (i) An agency caseworker or other representative of a state or local child welfare agency, or tribal organization, as defined in Section 450b of Title 25 of the United States Code, that has legal responsibility, in accordance with state or tribal law, for the care and protection of the pupil.

(ii) The agency or organization specified in clause (i) may disclose pupil records, or the personally identifiable information contained in those records, to an individual or entity engaged in addressing the pupil’s educational needs, if the individual or entity is authorized by the agency or organization to receive the disclosure and the information requested is directly related to the assistance provided by that individual or entity. The records, or the personally identifiable information contained in those records, shall not otherwise be disclosed by that agency or organization, except as provided under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g), state law, including paragraph (3), and tribal law.

(O) A foster family agency with jurisdiction over a currently enrolled or former pupil, a short-term residential treatment program staff responsible for the education or case management of a pupil, and a caregiver who has direct responsibility for the care of the pupil, including a certified or licensed foster parent, an approved relative or nonrelated extended family member, or a resource family, as defined in § 1517 of the Health and Safety Code and § 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, pursuant to Section 49069.3 of this code.

(2) School districts may release information from pupil records to the following:

(A) Appropriate persons in connection with an emergency if the knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of a pupil or other persons. Schools or school districts releasing information pursuant to this subparagraph shall comply with the requirements set forth in Section 99.32(a)(5) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(B) Agencies or organizations in connection with the application of a pupil for, or receipt of, financial aid. However, information permitting the personal identification of a pupil or his or her parents may be disclosed only as may be necessary for purposes as to determine the eligibility of the pupil 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.

(C) Pursuant to Section 99.37 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a county elections official, for the purpose of identifying pupils eligible to register to vote, or for conducting programs to offer pupils an opportunity to register to vote. The information shall not be used for any other purpose or given or transferred to any other person or agency.

(D) Accrediting associations in order to carry out their accrediting functions.

(E) Organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions for purposes of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, and improving instruction, if the studies are conducted in a manner that will not permit the personal identification of pupils or their parents by persons other than representatives of the organizations, the information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose for which it is obtained, and the organization enters into a written agreement with the educational agency or institution that complies with Section 99.31(a)(6) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(F) Officials and employees of private schools or school systems where the pupil is enrolled or intends to enroll, subject to the rights of parents as provided in Section 49068 and in compliance with the requirements in Section 99.34 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This information shall be in addition to the pupil’s permanent record transferred pursuant to Section 49068.

(G) (i) A contractor or consultant with a legitimate educational interest who has a formal written agreement or contract with the school district regarding the provision of outsourced institutional services or functions by the contractor or consultant.

(ii) Notwithstanding the authorization in Section 99.31(a)(1)(i)(B) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a disclosure pursuant to this subparagraph shall not be permitted to a volunteer or other party.

(3) A person, persons, agency, or organization permitted access to pupil records pursuant to this section shall not permit access to any information obtained from those records by another person, persons, agency, or organization, except for allowable exceptions contained within the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) and state law, including this section, and implementing regulations, without the written consent of the pupil’s parent. This paragraph shall not require prior parental 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 pursuant to Section 99.31(a)(1) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(4) Notwithstanding any other law, a school district, including a county office of education or county superintendent of schools, may participate in an interagency data information system that permits access to a computerized database system within and between governmental agencies or school districts as to information or records that are nonprivileged, and where release is authorized as to the requesting agency under state or federal law or regulation, if each of the following requirements is met:

(A) Each agency and school district shall develop security procedures or devices by which unauthorized personnel cannot access data contained in the system.

(B) Each agency and school district shall develop procedures or devices to secure privileged or confidential data from unauthorized disclosure.

(C) Each school district shall comply with the access log requirements of Section 49064.

(D) The right of access granted shall not include the right to add, delete, or alter data without the written permission of the agency holding the data.

(E) An agency or school district shall not make public or otherwise release information on an individual contained in the database if the information is protected from disclosure or release as to the requesting agency by state or federal law or regulation.

(b) The officials and authorities to whom pupil records are disclosed pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 48902 and subparagraph (I) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall certify in writing to the disclosing school district that the information shall not be disclosed to another party, except as provided under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) and state law, without the prior written consent of the parent of the pupil or the person identified as the holder of the pupil’s educational rights.

(c) (1) A person or party who is not permitted access to pupil records pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) may request access to pupil records as provided for in paragraph (2).

(2) A local educational agency or other person or party who has received pupil records, or information from pupil records, may release the records or information to a person or party identified in paragraph (1) without the consent of the pupil’s parent or guardian pursuant to Section 99.31(b) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, if the records or information are deidentified, which requires the removal of all personally identifiable information, if the disclosing local educational agency or other person or party has made a reasonable determination that a pupil’s identity is not personally identifiable, whether through single or multiple releases, and has taken into account other pertinent reasonably available information.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 829, Sec. 3. (SB 233) Effective January 1, 2018.)