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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

12/17/2012--Passed Senate amended.

Uninterrupted Scholars Act (USA) - Amends provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 that prohibit the Department of Education from funding educational agencies or institutions that release student educational records (or personally identifiable information other than certain directory information) to any individual, agency, or organization without written parental consent.

Expands the list of organizations exempt from such prohibitions (thereby permitting the educational agencies or institutions participating in a Department of Education program to release records or identifiable information to such organizations without parental consent) to include an agency caseworker or other representative of a state or local child welfare agency or tribal organization authorized to access a student's case plan when such agencies or organizations are legally responsible for the care and protection of the student.

Sets forth conditions including that:

(1) the education records, or the personally identifiable information contained in such records, will not be disclosed by such agency or organization, except to an individual or entity engaged in addressing the student's education needs and authorized by such agency or organization to receive such disclosure; and

(2) such disclosures be consistent with applicable student record confidentiality laws of states and tribes.

Permits the release of such records and information without additional notice to parents and students when a parent is a party to a court proceeding involving child abuse and neglect or dependency matters and a court order has already been issued in the context of that proceeding.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/112/2/s3472.

Summary

S. 3472 would amend the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 which prohibits the Department of Education from funding educational agencies or institutions that release student educational records without written parental consent. The bill would expand the exceptions under which an educational institution may release a student’s educational records without the consent of the student or parent. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 institutions that receive funding from the Department of Education are prohibited from providing a student’s education records except under certain circumstances, such as to another school to which the student is transferring, to accrediting organizations, or to state and local authorities pursuant to specific state law.

S. 3472 would allow schools to release a student’s education records to a caseworker, state or local child welfare representative, or tribal organization that has the right to access the student’s case plan. The bill would also allow schools to release a student's education records under court order without notifying the parent if the parent is involved in a court proceeding regarding child abuse and neglect or child dependency, and the court order is issued as a result of those proceedings.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Title 20: EDUCATION
Chapter 31: GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING EDUCATION
Subchapter III: GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS CONCERNING OPERATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS: GENERAL AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY
Part 4: Records; Privacy; Limitation on Withholding Federal Funds
Section 1232g: Family educational and privacy rights
Title 25: INDIANS
Chapter 14: MISCELLANEOUS
Subchapter II: INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ASSISTANCE
Section 450b: Definitions
Title 42: THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
Chapter 67: CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT AND ADOPTION REFORM
Subchapter I: GENERAL PROGRAM
Section 5101: Office on Child Abuse and Neglect

S. 3472 (112th): Uninterrupted Scholars Act (USA)