25 C.F.R. § 43.21

Current through November 30, 2024
Section 43.21 - Standards for collection and maintenance of student records
(a) Records shall contain only information about an individual which is relevant and necessary to accomplish a purpose of the Bureau required to be accomplished by statute or Executive order of the President.
(b) Student records which are used in making any determination about any student shall be maintained with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the student in making the determination.
(c) Information which may be used in determining a student's rights, benefits, and privileges under Federal programs shall be collected directly from the student or his parents, to the greatest extent practicable. In deciding whether collection of information from a parent or eligible student, as opposed to a third-party source is practicable, the following factors among others may be considered:
(1) Whether the nature of the information sought is such that it can only be obtained from a third party.
(2) Whether the cost of collecting the information from the parent or student is unreasonable, when compared with the cost of collecting it from a third party.
(3) Whether there is a risk that information collected from third parties, if inaccurate, could result in an adverse determination to the student concerned.
(4) Whether the information, if supplied by the parent or student, would have to be verified by a third party.
(5) Whether provisions can be made for verification by the parent of student of information collected from third parties.
(d) Each individual parent or eligible student who is asked to supply information about himself which will be added to a system of student records shall be notified of the basis for requesting the information, how it may be used, and what the consequences, if any, are of not supplying the information. At a minimum, the notice to the parent or eligible student must state:
(1) The authority (whether granted by statute or Executive Order of the President) which authorizes requesting the information and whether disclosure of such information is mandatory or voluntary.
(2) The principle purpose or purposes for which the information is intended to be used.
(3) The routine uses which may be made of the information.
(4) The effects, if any, of not providing all or any part of the requested information.
(e) When information is collected on a standard form, the notice to the parent or eligible student shall be on the form or on a tear-off sheet attached to the form or on a separate sheet, whichever, is most practical.
(f) When information is collected by an interviewer, the interviewer shall provide the parent or eligible student with a written notice which the individual may retain. If the interview is conducted by telephone, however, the interviewer may summarize the notice for the individual and need not provide a copy to the individual unless the individual requests that a copy be mailed to him.
(g) A parent or eligible student may be asked to acknowledge, in writing, that he has been given the notice required by this section.
(h) No student records may be maintained describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the first amendment to the Constitution unless:
(1) Expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the student record is maintained; or
(2) Pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity.

25 C.F.R. § 43.21