## Facts

- Washington required prospective public school teachers to obtain an affidavit of good moral character from a dean at their graduating institution.
- John Doe, an undergraduate in Gonzaga University’s School of Education, sought the affidavit to pursue teacher certification.
- A university teacher-certification specialist heard allegations that Doe had committed sexual misconduct against another student.
- The specialist initiated an investigation and contacted the state teacher-certification agency, identifying Doe and discussing the allegations.
- Doe later learned he would not receive the required affidavit.
- Doe sued Gonzaga University and the specialist, alleging the disclosures violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and seeking damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
- A jury found for Doe and awarded damages, including compensatory and punitive damages on the FERPA-based § 1983 claim.

## Issues

1. Whether FERPA’s nondisclosure provisions create individual rights enforceable through a damages action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
2. Whether FERPA’s structure as a federal funding condition and its administrative enforcement scheme foreclose § 1983 enforcement.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the judgment allowing FERPA-based § 1983 damages.
- The Court held, 7–2, that the relevant FERPA provisions create no personal rights enforceable under § 1983.
- The Court concluded that FERPA is directed to institutional compliance as a condition of federal funding and is enforced through the Department of Education, not private lawsuits.

## Legal Principles

- A plaintiff seeking to enforce a federal statute under § 1983 must identify an unambiguously conferred individual right, not merely a federal requirement imposed on regulated entities.
- Spending Clause legislation must state clearly and unambiguously any intent to create individually enforceable rights; otherwise, funding conditions do not support § 1983 enforcement.
- Statutory provisions focused on institutional “policy or practice,” lacking rights-creating language, and administered through an agency compliance process generally do not create § 1983-enforceable individual rights.
- The existence of an administrative enforcement scheme aimed at securing institutional compliance is evidence Congress did not intend private enforcement through § 1983.

## Conclusion

The Court held that FERPA’s confidentiality provisions do not confer individual rights enforceable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, limiting private damages actions based on federal education-funding conditions and requiring clear statutory rights-creating language before § 1983 enforcement is permitted.


Gonzaga Univ. v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273 (2002)