## Facts

- An Oklahoma public school district used “peer grading,” in which students exchanged assignments, marked one another’s answers as the teacher reviewed them, and then returned the papers to the original students.
- In some classes, students announced their scores aloud or delivered the scored papers to the teacher.
- A parent objected, alleging the practice embarrassed her children and violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).
- FERPA conditions federal funding on a school’s agreement not to maintain a policy or practice permitting release of “education records” or personally identifiable information without parental consent.
- The parent sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, asserting peer grading unlawfully disclosed protected education records.

## Issues

1. Whether peer-graded classroom assignments are “education records” under FERPA because they contain student information and are “maintained” by the school or by a person acting for the school.
2. Whether student scoring and disclosure of grades during peer grading constitutes a prohibited “release” of education records without parental consent.
3. Whether FERPA creates individual rights enforceable through 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (assumed without deciding).

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals and held that peer grading does not violate FERPA.
- Peer-graded assignments are not “education records” because they are not “maintained” by the educational agency or institution, nor by a person acting for it, within the meaning of FERPA.
- The Court assumed without deciding that FERPA could be enforced through § 1983, but resolved the case on statutory interpretation.

## Legal Principles

- FERPA “education records” are records containing student information that are “maintained” by the educational institution (or an institutional agent), reflecting institutional custody and retention rather than brief classroom handling.
- Classroom papers handled momentarily by student graders before any score is recorded in an institutional record are not “maintained” records and therefore are not FERPA “education records.”
- Students participating in an instructional peer-grading exercise are not ordinarily “persons acting for” the educational institution as record custodians for FERPA purposes.
- A grade becomes part of an “education record” when entered into an institutional record the school keeps (such as a grade book), not while it exists only on a student-handled assignment in the classroom.

## Conclusion

The Court held that FERPA targets disclosure of institutionally kept student records, not routine classroom practices; because peer-graded assignments are not “maintained” education records, peer grading and incidental score disclosure do not violate FERPA.


Owasso Indep. Sch. Dist. No. I-011 v. Falvo, 534 U.S. 426 (2002)