The legal requirements for colleges and schools to provide medical records to students are governed by various laws and regulations, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and state-specific laws. In New York, for example, Education Law 912 requires each school district to provide resident students who attend religious and independent schools with all the same health and welfare services available to students who attend public schools in the district. This includes maintaining cumulative health records and providing various health services.
Under FERPA, student health records are considered “education records” and are generally protected from disclosure without the student’s or, if the student is a minor, the parent’s consent. However, there are exceptions that allow for the disclosure of student medical records without consent to school officials, including faculty, administrators, and legal counsel, provided that the institution has determined that those officials have a “legitimate educational interest” in the student records.
It’s important for schools to balance students’ privacy interests, including their rights under FERPA, against legitimate institutional needs when using student medical records for purposes other than healthcare. Schools must also comply with federal and state confidentiality laws when disclosing individual students’ health conditions and ensure that only the minimum amount of personally identifiable information is disclosed when necessary.
In summary, the legal requirements for colleges and schools to provide medical records to students are primarily governed by FERPA and state-specific laws. These requirements aim to protect students’ privacy while also allowing for the disclosure of medical records in certain circumstances to meet legitimate educational and health-related needs.
Sources
- https://www.nysed.gov/nonpublic-schools/health-services
- https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2015/09/using-student-medical-records-department-of-educat
- https://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/schoolhealth/schoolhealthservices/Article19Sections.html