BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 733
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 733 (Ma)
As Amended June 16, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(May 16, 2011) |SENATE: |33-0 |(July 1, 2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Amends the California Education Code to conform with
the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
provisions relating to the confidentiality of pupil records.
The Senate amendments :
1)Clarify references to federal statute, and add references to
federal regulations that further clarify federal law.
2)Clarify that the exception to the prohibition against the
release of records for state and local officials or
authorities to whom the information is specifically allowed to
be reported or disclosed pursuant to state law adopted after
November 19, 1974, is allowed if the reporting or disclosure
concerns the juvenile justice system and the ability to
effectively serve the pupil.
3)Change "prosecuting agency" to "district attorney's office" in
the exception for consideration against a parent for failure
to comply with compulsory education laws, and clarify that
this exception is allowed if the reporting or disclosure
concerns the juvenile justice system and the ability to
effectively serve the pupil.
4)Restrict, further, the authority of a school district to
release pupil record information, for pupils who have not been
opted out of this disclosure, to a county elections official
for the purpose of identifying eligible voters, to only
authorize the release of pupil directory information.
5)Authorize, as permitted by federal regulation, a public school
to release pupil records without parental consent if all
personally identifiable information has been removed, provided
the district has made a reasonable determination that the
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pupils' identity is not personally identifiable, whether
through single or multiple releases, and has taken into
account other reasonably available information.
EXISTING LAW protects, under the federal Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g; 34 CFR
Part 99) and state law, the privacy of pupil education records
by requiring written permission from the parent or eligible
student, with specified exceptions, in order for a school
district to release any information from a student's education
record.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS : Under the previous (1997) authorization of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), states were
required to prove compliance through submission of a copy of
state policies and procedures to the Office of Special Education
Programs in the United States Department of Education (USDOE).
As a result of reviewing these materials, the federal Family
Policy Compliance Office in 2003 issued instructions to the
California Department of Education (CDE) addressing areas of
FERPA where California statute fell short of compliance. Under
the current reauthorization (2004) of IDEA, states are required
to provide assurances to USDOE as to compliance with all
relevant federal requirements. FERPA protects the privacy of
student education records, and applies to all schools that
receive funds under programs administered by the U.S. Department
of Education. Under FERPA, schools generally must have written
permission from the parent or eligible student in order to
release any information from a pupil's record; however, FERPA
provides limited exceptions to this requirement
Since no changes have been enacted to bring state statute into
full compliance with FERPA, USDOE has annually warned the CDE
that these previous outstanding issues must be resolved and that
this resolution is a condition of continued federal funding for
Special Education in California. As a result USDOE has issued a
Conditional Grant Award Letter to the CDE when making the annual
award of funds to California under IDEA; this type of grant
award means that the funding is provided on the condition that
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outstanding issue will be resolved. The author and the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, the sponsor of this bill,
have expressed concern that this status jeopardizes the
continuation of California's special education funding,
currently in excess of $1.21 billion annually. This bill
proposes to bring state Education Code into conformity with
FERPA, and thus eliminate the conditions that USDOE has placed
on the state's IDEA grant; the provisions in this bill have been
developed by the CDE through discussion with USDOE.
In early April of this year, USDOE announced that it proposes to
amend the regulations implementing FERPA, in order to ensure
that FERPA continues to protect the privacy of education
records, as intended by Congress, while allowing for the
effective use of data in statewide longitudinal data systems.
Expectations are that the federal rulemaking process will
extend, at least, to the end of this calendar year. It is
important to note that the regulations proposed by the USDOE
focus on the federally allowed exceptions to the FERPA
requirement for obtaining parental signatures prior to the
release of pupil record information; ironically, the USDOE is
urging California to conform its state law to those same
exceptions, but in their existing form and as interpreted under
current regulations. It is very possible that California
statute, even with the changes proposed by this bill, will not
conform to federal law and regulations as they change under the
federal rulemaking process through this year; in other words,
this bill may be aiming at a moving target of federal
regulations.
This bill was double referred to the Assembly Education
Committee and the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Gerald Shelton / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0001473