79-2,104. Access to school files or records; limitation; fees; disciplinary material; removed and destroyed; when; sharing of student data, records, and information.

(1) Any student in any public school or his or her parents, guardians, teachers, counselors, or school administrators shall have access to the school's files or records maintained concerning such student, including the right to inspect, review, and obtain copies of such files or records. No other person shall have access to such files or records except (a) when a parent, guardian, or student of majority age provides written consent or (b) as provided in subsection (3) of this section. The contents of such files or records shall not be divulged in any manner to any unauthorized person. All such files or records shall be maintained so as to separate academic and disciplinary matters, and all disciplinary material shall be removed and destroyed after a student's continuous absence from the school for a period of three years.

(2) Each public school may establish a schedule of fees representing a reasonable cost of reproduction for copies of a student's files or records for the parents or guardians of such student, except that the imposition of a fee shall not prevent parents of students from exercising their right to inspect and review the students' files or records and no fee shall be charged to search for or retrieve any student's files or records.

(3)(a) This section does not preclude authorized representatives of (i) auditing officials of the United States, (ii) auditing officials of this state, or (iii) state educational authorities from having access to student or other records which are necessary in connection with the audit and evaluation of federally supported or state-supported education programs or in connection with the enforcement of legal requirements which relate to such programs, except that, when collection of personally identifiable data is specifically authorized by law, any data collected by such officials with respect to individual students shall be protected in a manner which shall not permit the personal identification of students and their parents by other than the officials listed in this subsection. Personally identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer needed for such audit, evaluation, or enforcement of legal requirements.

(b) This section does not preclude or prohibit the disclosure of student records to any other person or entity which may be allowed to have access pursuant to the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. 1232g, as such act existed on February 1, 2013, and regulations adopted thereunder.

(4) The Legislature finds and declares that the sharing of student data, records, and information among school districts, educational service units, learning communities, and the State Department of Education, to the fullest extent practicable and permitted by law, is vital to advancing education in this state. Whenever applicable law permits the sharing of such student data, records, and information, each school district, educational service unit, and learning community shall comply unless otherwise prohibited by law. The State Board of Education shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations providing for and requiring the uniform sharing of student data, records, and information among school districts, educational service units, learning communities, and the department.

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