VIRGINIA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. SCHOOL BOARD ACCESS TO COUNTY SCHOOL RECORDS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND PARTICIPANTS.

June 12, 1980

The Honorable Eva F. Scott
Member, Senate of Virginia

79-80 389

You ask whether the county school board can legally obtain from the superintendent of schools county school records concerning special education programs and the identities of students participating in such programs.

There are certain limitations upon public disclosure of student scholastic records. The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (the "Act") provides that "scholastic records" concerning individual students are exempt from required public disclosure. See §2.1-342(b)(3) of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended. County school records of the identity of students participating special education programs would be "scholastic records" as defined by the Act. See §2.1-341(f). The Family Educational and Privacy Act, known as the Buckley Bill, 20 U.S C. §1232g et seq. prohibits public disclosure of student educational records by state and local school officials receiving federal funds.

Neither the Act nor the Buckley Bill, however, prevents school officials from obtaining access to student scholastic or educational records. The county school administration's records maintained by the superintendent and his staff are the records of the school board, since the superintendent and staff serve as employees of the school board at its pleasure. The board clearly is not denied access to its own records under any provision of the Act. The Buckley Bill specifically provides that its limitations on public disclosure of educational records are not intended to prevent state or local educational officials from having access to such records. See 20 U.S.C. §1232g(b)(5).

The Privacy Protection Act, found in Ch. 26 of Title 2.1 of the Code of Virginia, would not prohibit school board access to the records in question, since the Privacy Protection Act limits dissemination of records containing personal information only where other laws prohibit dissemination. See §2.1-380(1).

Accordingly, I am of the opinion that neither State nor federal law prevents the county school board from obtaining access to county school records concerning special education programs and the identities of program participants.