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Court limits education privacy lawsuits

By MICHAEL KIRKLAND, UPI Legal Affairs Correspondent

WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Thursday that private civil rights lawsuits cannot be filed under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA.

The ruling came in the case of a former student at Gonzaga University in Washington state who was denied a teaching certificate because of hearsay that he had engaged in sexual misconduct.

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FERPA prohibits federal funds going to an institution that has a policy of releasing education records to unauthorized people.

"John Doe" is a former undergraduate at Gonzaga in Spokane.

He planned to become a public elementary school teacher in Washington state after graduation.

At the time, the state required all new teachers to have an affidavit of good character from their colleges.

Roberta League, Gonzaga's teacher certification specialist, overheard one student tell another that Doe had engaged in sexual misconduct.

League launched an investigation, discussed the allegations and the student with the state agency responsible for teacher certification, and finally told Doe he would not be getting his affidavit.

Doe then filed suit against Gonzaga and League, alleging violations of state law as well as FERPA.

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A jury awarded him more than $1.15 million on the FERPA claim.

Eventually, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that FERPA allows private lawsuits, and Gonzaga and League asked the Supreme Court for review.

In the majority opinion Thursday, Chief Justice William Rehnquist said FERPA has no provision for private lawsuits, and "if Congress wishes to create new rights enforceable under (civil rights law), it must do so in clear and unambiguous terms."

(No. 01-679, Gonzaga et al. vs. Doe)

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