Circumstances
Under Which Information May Be Shared Without Prior Consent
According to the final regulations (34 CFR Part 99) that implement the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), there are certain conditions for which information can be disclosed without prior consent. Among these are conditions related to a health or safety emergency and child abuse. Davis and Ritchie (1993) explain circumstances under which confidentiality restrictions can be broken:
"Situations may arise in which the school counselor finds it necessary to break confidentiality to protect the client or other persons, for instance, when there is clear and imminent danger to the client or others, in cases of suspected child abuse, or when ordered to testify by a judge." (p. 26).
Under these circumstances, the duty to warn or testify may outweigh the need to maintain the client's confidentiality. In fact, each state requires teachers and counselors to report suspected cases of child abuse and may penalize them for failing to report such cases (Camblin & Prout, 1989, cited in Davis & Ritchie, 1993). In these situations, the counselor or teacher is protected against legal action that parents might bring.
In addition, FERPA does not prohibit sharing of certain information among educators if that information is not part of an education record. Medaris, Campbell, and James (1997) state:
"Educators are free to share information with other agencies or individuals concerning students based on their personal knowledge or observation, provided the information does not rely on the contents of an education record. Oral referrals to other agencies based on personal observations are not subject to the provisions of FERPA." (p. 4)
