Law Update

Grades Are for Students' Eyes Only, Federal Appeals Court Rules: The practices of having students grade their classmates' work and of announcing their own grades out loud in the classroom violate the federal law guaranteeing privacy in education records, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, was the first by a federal appellate court to consider whether those classroom practices violate the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA.

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the court was also significant because it rejected an interpretation of the law put forth by the...