# data[].attributes.body
My professional perspective is academic advisors should follow the policies, federal and state laws related to their job duties. Advisors need to regularly review policies and laws to ensure they understand these items and know how to implement them into their job.

My audience is academic advisors. The topic of this legal guide is student privacy. I chose this topic because it is relevant to academic advisors and affects every student that advisors work with.

# data[].attributes.body
Federal:

The department of education is responsible for ensuring that institutions are complying with the Family educational Rights and Privacy Act(FERPA). FERPA complaints are filed with the Department of Education.

State/Local:

In cases of cheating, it is the responsibility of the educational institution to enforce compliance and any consequences. If a student violates the code of conduct or ethics of the institution, the student will be investigated and reprimanded by the institution.

# data[].attributes.body
Federal
A constitutional law that relates to student privacy is Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (2018). Title IX protects student information when a student reports that a crime such as sexual harassment has been committed against them.

https://www.justice.gov/crt/title-ix-education-
amendments-1972

·       Prohibits sexual discrimination at any organization that receives federal funding

·       Violations can result in loss of federal funding

State

The state constitutional law is the Texas Student Privacy Act ( Tex. Educ. Code §32.151). This law protects student information from being posted online.

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/85R/billtext/html/HB02087S.htm

·       Protects personally identifiable information

·       Details when information can be released

# data[].attributes.body
Federal Statute

A U.S. statute that governs student privacy is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy (FERPA) Act 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. FERPA states what student information cannot be given out without the student’s consent. The act also states what information can be releases if the student does not opt-out of releasing this information. Consequences of violating FERPA is an institution losing federal funding.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1232g

·       Protects personally identifiable information

·       Details when information can be released

Federal Administrative Law

The Privacy Act of 1974 ( 5 U.S.C. § 552a) establishes how federal agencies maintain and use personal records.  Violations to this act can result in fines.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2018-title5/pdf/USCODE-2018-title5-partI-chap5-subchapII-sec552a.pdf

·     Sets rules for personal information federal agencies maintain on individuals

# data[].attributes.body
Gonzaga University v. Doe., 536 US 273(2002)- Case in which a student sued their university for revealing private information to a state agency. The court ruled that a student cannot personally sue a university for a FERPA violation but the non disclosure provision creates enforceable rights (  Oyez, n.d.). The student was awarded damages.

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/536/273/#tab-opinion-1961115

# data[].attributes.body
The University of North Texas at Dallas’ privacy policy( 14.007 policy information technology) covers student privacy. The policy states which parties on campus are responsible for keeping student information private and what information is considered private.
·       States privacy rules related to personal information gained electronically

·       Details where privacy statements are available

# data[].attributes.body
Some risk management steps that can be taken to avoid students cheating is to inform students of different types of cheating and explain to them the consequences of cheating at their educational institution.

# data[].attributes.body
The ethical code that I must follow as an academic advisor is the Texas Education Code. The Texas Education code provides guidelines that I must follow by working in the field of education.

# data[].attributes.body
As an advisor researching student privacy laws has helped me to understand the importance of knowing how federal, state and local policies interconnect. I have learned that I am not only legally responsible for abiding to student privacy laws but ethically as well.

As a student I have learned about my student privacy rights and how to file a complaint if my rights have been violated.

# data[].attributes.body
·       Academic advisors should familiarize themselves with federal, state, and local privacy laws and policies

·       If an advisor needs clarity on any law or policy, they should seek clarity by contacting the party responsible for the law or policy

·       Advisors should be clear on the consequence of violating student privacy rights

·       Advisors should make sure their personal ethics are in line with the professional ethics they must abide to

·       Any privacy violations that occur should be relayed to the party or office that handles compliance

·       Advisors should make sure students are aware of their student privacy rights