N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:32-7.5 - Access to student records

(a) Only authorized organizations, agencies, or persons, as defined in this section, shall have access to student records, including student health records.

(b) The district board of education may charge a reasonable fee for reproduction of student records, not to exceed the schedule of costs set forth at N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5, provided that the cost does not effectively prevent parents or adult students from exercising their rights under this subchapter or other Federal and State rules and regulations regarding students with disabilities, including N.J.A.C. 6A:14.

(c) Each district board of education shall control access to, disclosure of, and communication regarding information contained in student health records to assure access only to people permitted by Federal and State statute and regulations or as stated at (e) below.

(d) Access to, and disclosure of, a student health record shall meet the requirements of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and 34 CFR Part 99.

(e) Organizations, agencies, and persons authorized to access student records shall include only the following:

1. The student who has the written permission of a parent and the parent of a student under the age of 18, regardless of whether the child resides with the parent, except pursuant to N.J.S.A. 9:2-4;

i. The place of residence shall not be disclosed; and

ii. Access shall not be provided if denied by a court;

2. Students at least 16 years of age who are terminating their education in the school district because they will graduate secondary school at the end of the term or no longer plan to continue their education;

3. An adult student and/or a parent who has the written permission of an adult student, except that the parent shall have access without the adult student's consent, as long as the adult student is financially dependent on the parent and enrolled in the public school system, or if the adult student has been declared legally incompetent by a court of appropriate jurisdiction. The parent of a financially dependent adult student may not disclose information contained in the adult student's record to a second or third party without the adult student's consent;

4. Certified school district personnel who are assigned educational responsibility for the student shall have access to the general student record but not to the student health record except under conditions permitted in N.J.A.C. 6A:16-2.4;

5. Certified educational personnel who have assigned educational responsibility for the student and who are employed by agencies listed below shall have access to the general student record, but not to the student health record, except under conditions permitted at N.J.A.C. 6A:16-2.4:

i. An approved private school for students with disabilities;

ii. A State facility;

iii. Accredited nonpublic schools in which students with disabilities have been placed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:46-14; or

iv. Clinics and agencies approved by the Department;

6. To fulfill its legal responsibility, a district board of education shall have access through the chief school administrator, or the chief school administrator's designee, to information contained in a student's record. Information shall be discussed in executive session, unless otherwise requested by the parent or adult student;

7. Secretarial and clerical personnel under the direct supervision of certified school personnel shall be permitted access to portions of the record to the extent necessary for the entry and recording of data and the conducting of routine clerical tasks. Access shall be limited only to student files in which such staff are directed to enter or record information, and shall cease when the specific assigned task is completed;

8. Accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions;

9. The Commissioner and Department staff members who are assigned responsibility that necessitates the review of such records;

10. Officials of other district boards of education within the State or other educational agencies or institutions where the student is placed, registered, or seeks to enroll, subject to the following conditions:

i. Original mandated student records that schools have been directed to compile by New Jersey statute, regulation, or authorized administrative directive shall be forwarded to the receiving school district, agency, or institution with written notification to the parent or adult student;

ii. Original mandated student records that a district board of education has required shall be forwarded to the receiving school district, agency, or institution only with the written consent of the parent or adult student, except where a formal sending-receiving relationship exists between the school districts;

iii. All records to be forwarded, including disciplinary records as specified at N.J.S.A. 18A:36-19a, shall be sent to the chief school administrator of the school district to which the student has transferred, or the chief school administrator's designee, within 10 school days after the transfer has been verified by the requesting school district;

iv. The chief school administrator, or the chief school administrator's designee, shall request, in writing, all student records from the school district of last attendance within two weeks from the date that the student enrolls in the new school district;

v. Upon request, the chief school administrator of the school district of last attendance, or the chief school administrator's designee, shall provide a parent(s) or an adult student with a copy of the records disclosed to other educational agencies or institutions; and

vi. Proper identification, such as a certified copy of the student's birth certificate or other proof of the student's identity pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:36-25.1, shall be requested at the time of enrollment in a new school district;

11. Officials of the United States Department of Education assigned responsibilities that necessitate review of such records;

12. Officers and employees of a State agency responsible for protective and investigative services for students pursuant to N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.40. Wherever appropriate, district boards of education shall ask the State agency for its cooperation in sharing the findings of an investigation;

13. Agency caseworkers or other representatives of a State or local child welfare agency who have the right to access a student's case plan when the agency or organization is legally responsible, in accordance with State law, for the care and protection of the student, consistent with 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(1)(L).

14. Organizations, agencies, and persons from outside the school if they have the written consent of the parent or adult student. Organizations, agencies, and persons shall not transfer student record information to a third party without the written consent of the parent or adult student;

15. Organizations, agencies and individuals outside the school, other than those specified in this section, upon the presentation of a court order; and

16. Bona fide researchers who explain to the chief school administrator the nature of the research project and the relevance of the records sought. Prior to the release of records to a researcher, the chief school administrator, or the chief school administrator's designee, shall receive from the researcher written assurance that the records will be used under strict conditions of anonymity and confidentiality.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit school personnel from disclosing information contained in the student health record to students or adults in connection with an emergency, if such knowledge is necessary to protect the immediate health or safety of the student or other persons.

(g) In complying with this section, district boards of education and charter school and renaissance school project boards of trustees shall adhere to the requirements pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99.

1. When responding to OPRA requests from any party, including parties other than those listed at (e) above, a district board of education or charter school or renaissance school project board of trustees may release, without consent, records removed of all personally identifiable information, as such documents do not meet the definition of a student record. Before making any release, the district board of education or charter school or renaissance school project board of trustees shall have made a reasonable decision that a student's identity cannot be determined whether through single or multiple releases, or when added to other reasonably available information.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:32-7.5

Amended by R.2013 d.141, effective 12/16/2013.
See: 45 N.J.R. 419(a), 45 N.J.R. 2590(a).
In (b), substituted "people" for "those persons under the conditions"; rewrote (c) and (e); and in (g), updated the N.J.S.A. reference.
Amended by R.2015 d.025, effective 2/17/2015.
See: 46 N.J.R. 1775(a), 47 N.J.R. 464(a).
In (c), updated the N.J.S.A. reference; added new (e)13; and recodified former (e)13 through (e)15 as new (e)14 through (e)16.
Petition for Rulemaking.
See: 50 N.J.R. 1049(b).
Modified by Executive Order No. 103(2020), effective 5/7/2020.
See: 52 N.J.R. 1148(a). Terminated effective 8/31/2021. See 53 N.J.R. 1655(a).
Petition for Rulemaking.
See: 52 N.J.R. 1862(a), 2130(a).
Petition for Rulemaking.
See: 53 N.J.R. 1024(a), 1931(a).
Petition for Rulemaking.
See: 54 N.J.R. 183(a). Amended, 54 N.J.R. 1276(a), effective 7/5/2022