SCHOOLS STYMIED BY PRIVACY LAW

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 2, 1992                   TAG: 9201020028
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
SCHOOLS STYMIED BY PRIVACY LAW
Under the 1974 Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, colleges and universities are barred from passing on any information about a student, even to parents, without the student's permission.
As a result, the law precludes institutions from enlisting parental help in treating a student's drinking problem, college administrators say.
The privacy law was passed by Congress because of concern over the disclosure of sensitive test results and potentially damaging comments by teachers that could later taint students' records or reputations.
But nearly 20 years after the law's enactment, some institutions have established policies that bypass it without breaking it.
At Southern Methodist University, officials require students cited for disciplinary problems, many of which are related to alcohol, to tell their parents to call the student dean's office. Failure to do so could result in suspension, said James Caswell, vice president for student affairs.
In virtually every case, students do follow through and the parental notification allows the university to help the students. "This creates a family atmosphere if we are going to help the student, and we haven't violated the law," Caswell said.
Still, many other colleges say they are stymied by the law and, out of fear of potential litigation, do not divulge student information.
"We're trying to provide protection for students, and sometimes the people who have a need to know are precluded to access at a critical juncture," said Sheldon Steinbach, general counsel for the American Council on Education, an association that represents 1,700 colleges and universities. "There's no way around it. That's the cost of doing business in our current societal mode."

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB