ESSAY PORTION OF THE FINAL EXAMINATION Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PORTION OF THE FINAL EXAMINATION - Essay Example In this case, it is very obvious that Clooney had neither informed Pittson of her intention to post his grades to fulosers.com, nor obtained Pittson’s consent on the same. In this same vein, Pittson’s grievances meet the threshold for a full fledged legal case because FERPA applies to educational institutions and agencies that are funded under programs that are run by the US Department of Education and as such, are publicly owned. It is clear that Fargo University as the institution in which the plaintiff learns and the defendant lectures is a state-owned university. The binding of state-owned learning institutions under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is well enshrined by the US Constitution in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), Public Law 79-404, Stat. 237 of June 11th, 1946. The APA Act governs the manner in which administrative agencies of the US federal government should establish, propose and observe regulations. It is therefore important that w hen Professor Clooney was posting students’ and Pittson’s grades online, she did so, knowing that she is a member of a public institution, and thereby bound by the FERPA Act and all other acts that govern the running of state-owned institutions, courtesy of the APA Act. Conversely, even the defendant’s claim of ignorance to this fact may not stand in the court of law, since ignorance is no defense in the court of law. That the threshold for this case is widely met is a matter that is underscored by FERPA including the divulging of information on a student’s behavior, status and even school work. FERPA stipulates that before posting a student’s behavior, status, school work or grades, permission must be obtained from an eligible student or the student’s parents, in order to release such information from any student’s education records. By eligibility, it is meant that the student must have been the subject or person of the information being posted; be of a sound mind; and have attained the legal age. In the event that the student does not meet this threshold, contacting that student’s parents for permission becomes inevitable. It is clear that Cooper did not follow these steps but arbitrarily posted Pittson’s grades to a public forum (Mayers, Mawer and Price, 23). It is also important to note that FERPA clearly accords students above the age of 18 and 18 year old students, and students who have enrolled in any post-secondary learning institution, the right to privacy as touching grades, billing information and enrollment. The only exception to this provision is when the school or its officer(s) obtains permission from the student to share this kind of specific information with the parents. This also clearly underscores the sustainability of the case before the court of law, given that Professor Clooney sought not, informed consent from Pittson, despite Pittson having attained 18 years and being a po st-secondary student, particularly, a university. FERPA also adjures faculty members to maintain confidentiality of students’ educational records, as the custodian of students’ academic database. It is for this reason that FERPA specifies that faculty members and the personnel of learning institutions must not post, display or publish lists of students’ grades, in personally identifiable forms, either in electronic form, or in hard copy. This provision goes ahead to state