                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

STUDENT RECORDS AND PERSONAL INFORMATION; SOCIAL MEDIA (§ 23.1-405)

A. As used in this section:
			&#8220;Social media account&#8221; means a personal account with an
electronic medium or service through which users may create, share, or view
user-generated content, including, without limitation, videos, photographs,
blogs, podcasts, messages, emails, or website profiles or locations.
&#8220;Social media account&#8221; does not include an account (i) opened by a
student at the request of a public or private institution of higher education or
(ii) provided to a student by a public or private institution of higher
education such as the student&#8217;s email account or other software program
owned or operated exclusively by a public or private institution of higher
education.

B. Each public institution of higher education and private institution of higher
education may require any student who attends, or any applicant who has been
accepted to and has committed to attend, such institution to provide, to the
extent available, from the originating secondary school and, if applicable, any
institution of higher education he has attended a complete student record,
including any mental health records held by the previous school or institution.
Such records shall be kept confidential as required by state and federal law,
including the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C.
&#xA7; 1232g)(FERPA).

C. Student directory information, as defined by FERPA, and which may include a
student&#8217;s name, sex, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth,
major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and
sports, weight and height as a member of an athletic team, dates of attendance,
degrees and awards received, and other similar information, may be disclosed,
provided that the institution has given notice to the student of (i) the types
of information that the institution has designated as directory information,
(ii) the right of the student to refuse the designation of any or all of the
types of information about the student as directory information, and (iii) the
period of time within which the student must notify the institution in writing
that he does not want any or all of the types of information about the student
designated as directory information. However, no institution shall disclose the
address, telephone number, or email address of a student pursuant to the
Virginia Freedom of Information Act (&#xA7; 2.2-3700 et seq.) unless the student
has affirmatively consented in writing to such disclosure. Additionally, except
as required by state or federal law, no institution shall disclose the address,
telephone number, or email address of a student pursuant to 34 C.F.R. &#xA7;
99.31(a)(11) unless (a) the disclosure is to students enrolled in the
institution for educational purposes or institution business and the student has
not opted out of such disclosure in accordance with this subsection and
institution policy or (b) the student has affirmatively consented in writing to
such disclosure except as required by state or federal law. This subsection
shall not apply to disclosures, other than disclosures pursuant to 34 C.F.R.
&#xA7; 99.31(a)(11), permitted under FERPA.

D. No public institution of higher education shall sell students&#8217; personal
information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, to
any person. This subsection shall not apply to transactions involving credit,
debit, employment, finance, identity verification, risk assessment, fraud
prevention, or other transactions initiated by the student.

E. No public or private institution of higher education shall require a student
to disclose the username or password to any of such student&#8217;s personal
social media accounts. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a campus police
officer appointed under Article 3 (&#xA7; 23.1-809 et seq.) of Chapter 8 from
performing his official duties.

HISTORY: 2008, c. 571, § 23-2.1:3; 2012, cc. 347, 382; 2014, c. 748; 2016, cc.
588, 597; 2018, c. 806; 2019, c. 229.