Often a Public University Will Refuse to Release Student Records

Essay

Often a public university will refuse to release student records because of a federal law designed to protect student privacy, FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974). Specifically, the Act outlines students' rights to privacy in relation to their parents with respect to their academic records. The U.S. Department of Education has never sanctioned any entity for a FERPA violation, and it is unlikely they would sanction a university absent a pattern or practice of releasing information, and then only if the university could not be brought into compliance voluntarily. Nevertheless, FERPA is often used as a rational for refusing to release records. Consider this case and its issue, whether or not a series of emails were a "record" subject to release under Arizona's FOIA and not protected under FERPA:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/20/jared-loughner-at-pima-co_n_864548.html .  What did the judge conclude? Do you agree? What are the pros and cons of such a release?​