Summary
This Nevada Supreme Court opinion addresses whether emails stored in a school district’s cloud-based database qualify as "education records" under the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). While the court agrees that electronically stored emails are "maintained" by the school district, it holds that the district court erred in deeming them "directly related" to a specific student without first examining their content. The court grants a petition for a writ of mandamus, vacating the lower court’s production order and directing an in camera review to determine if the emails meet FERPA’s definition.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether emails stored in a school district’s electronic database but not placed in a student’s permanent file qualify as "education records" under FERPA.
- Whether the district court erred in finding the emails were directly related to the student without first reviewing their content.
Holdings
- Emails stored in the district’s Google Vault are "maintained" by the school district and therefore satisfy the second prong of the FERPA education‑records definition.
- The district court erred; a determination of whether records are "directly related" requires a factual review of the content of the records.
Key quotations
“FERPA defines education records as records that are both directly related to the student and maintained by the educational institution.” (at 4)
“It is impossible to determine if a record is directly related to a student without first ascertaining the content of the record itself.” (at 5)
Factual background
Angalia B., the educational decision maker for minor student J.B., requested from CCSD all emails concerning J.B. stored in the district's Google Vault. CCSD refused, asserting the emails were not "education records" because they were not placed in J.B.'s permanent file. The district court found the emails were both directly related and maintained by CCSD and ordered production.
Procedural history
The district court ordered CCSD to produce emails from its Google Vault that it deemed "education records" under FERPA. CCSD appealed via a petition for mandamus, arguing the emails were not directly related to the student and thus not education records. The Supreme Court of Nevada reviewed the petition.
Remand instructions
Vacate the district court’s order compelling production of the emails and conduct an in‑camera review of all emails stored in CCSD’s Google Vault that mention J.B. by name, initials, or student ID number to determine whether they are directly related to J.B.