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What to tell parents and lawyers

Michigan State University views its students as adults, with the full protections and rights afforded to all adults in the United States .  This position is supported both by federal law, and fundamental principles of higher education.

From a legal perspective, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA) {link acronym to http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html } requires MSU and other institutions of higher education to protect these rights:

• "FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level ."
• "Generally, schools must have written permission from the . eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record."

Campus judicial records, like grade reports, are education records covered by FERPA.  As a result, students wanting a Student Life staff member to speak openly with parents, lawyers and others about a judicial case, must provide the Student Life office with written permission to do so.