FERPA Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

7 Mar, 2019

Mom fights for law to allow parents to view school bus video

By Deborah Fisher|2019-03-07T18:36:17-06:00March 7, 2019|Categories: Legislature, schools|Tags: Brooke Wilkerson, FERPA, school bus video, State Rep. Rick Tillis, State Sen. Shane Reeves|3 Comments

Lawmakers will consider a bill next week to allow parents to view school bus video after reports of physical harm, harassment, intimidation or bullying involving their child. Sen. Shane Reeves, R-Murfreesboro, is sponsoring SB 182, after hearing from a Lewisburg mother who faced roadblocks in finding out what happened to her kindergartener on the bus. Brooke Wilkerson, a Lewisburg mom who faced roadblocks in trying to see school bus video after her kindergartener told of her of a "secret tickling game" with a 12-year-old that took place on the bus. Brooke Wilkerson said she was concerned when her young daughter told her about a "secret tickling game" on the [...]

Chalkbeat: State is suing Nashville schools to turn over student directory information; Memphis takes a different path

By Deborah Fisher|2017-10-21T10:24:59-05:00October 21, 2017|Categories: schools|Tags: FERPA, Metro Nashville school board, Shelby County School Board, State Department of Education, student directory information|0 Comments

Chalkbeat has provided in-depth coverage of the escalating fight over release of student directory information to charter school operators who want to use it for recruitment. The state this past week filed a lawsuit against the Nashville school district to force the production of the student directory information, which includes student's addresses, phone numbers and other information, after the school district refused the state's order earlier this year. Chalkbeat explains in its most recent report a different tack taken by Memphis schools, which is notifying parents of their rights to have their student's information not released if they "opt out." The Nashville school district's refusal to turn over the information [...]

The Tennessean: UT withholds emails about student athletes, citing FERPA

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T08:28:19-05:00May 6, 2015|Categories: requests|Tags: emails, FERPA, Maria DeVarenne, The Tennessean, University of Tennessee|0 Comments

The Tennessean's news director Maria DeVarenne said the University of Tennessee is stonewalling the news organization's efforts to report on allegations of sexual assault against football players. In a story published today, reporter Anita Wadhwani reports that the university withheld emails between administrators "that could shed light on how the university and its athletics department responded to allegations of sexual assault against student-athletes." The university said emails about the students are protected under the Tennessee Public Records Act and the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. More from the story: The Tennessean in November requested email messages containing the names of five current or former UT football and basketball [...]