Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024
Is it legal for Arizona State University officials to give student contact information to a political campaign?
Arizona public records law dictates that records of public universities overseen by the state’s Board of Regents—including ASU, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University—are public unless covered explicitly by a statute protecting their confidentiality. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of students’ educational records but allows for the disclosure of “directory information.”
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education Protecting Student Privacy
- Arizona Legislature Title 39 - Public Records, Printing and Notices
- Arizona Legislature Public records exemptions; confidential information; historical records; donor records
- Arizona State University Student Privacy: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- Arizona State University ASU Statement on Harris Walz Campaign Texts
About fact briefs
Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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