FERPA and Campus Safety
"Campus safety is a top priority for colleges and universities. Sometimes a student’s statements or behaviors raise concerns about the safety of the student or others. To prevent harm from occurring, college administrators, faculty, and staff who are aware of such statements or behaviors may want to tell someone else—another campus employee, a parent, an outside health care professional, or a law enforcement officer about their concern. But they do not know exactly whom to tell. And they often fear that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)[1],the federal statute that governs disclosure of student records and information, limits those with whom they may share information found in the student’s records. Therefore, they unnecessarily and unwisely conclude that the safest course is simply telling no one or saying nothing."