Reply to Q re: the wisdom behind FERPA

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We have a son starting college in the fall (large state flagship).

At all the parent orientation sessions this summer, the university staff repeatedly emphasize FERPA again and again.  It's as if they live in fear of getting in trouble for violating this statute.  I'm new to learning about this statute, but it seems extreme in protecting the privacy of the student.  I'm definitely not a helicopter dad in any way, but this law seems kind of like overkill.

As a jaded lawyer, I am kind of asking myself why this statute exists, if the university staff acknowledge that it's not ideal to have such a strict law that only makes the parents aware of things if they are really really bad.

What prompted the enactment of this statute in the first place?  And have universities ever questioned the law (and tried to lobby Congress to change it), or do they just live in fear of violating it?

Our laws should have legitimate purposes, and if not, we should try to amend them.[/quote]

The colleges don't have a choice: they lose funding if they don't follow the law, so I give them kudos for pointing it out (also have a rising child starting a state flagship school in summer orientation: they did a great job of making this clear and what parents could do...ie get child to sign waiver...before starting).

Spouse and I were talking about this: 18 year olds *are* legally adults. Drive drunk, pay the penalty as an adult. Rape? Adult. Smoke pot? Still an issue on federally funded campuses and pay the price. They ARE legal adults. Forget whether you are paying or not, conversation should be between you and your adult ds/dd to keep this communication open. [/quote]

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