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Client Alerts New Regulations Governing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The U. S. Department of Education recently revised the regulations governing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. The new regulations will go into effect on January 3, 2012. FERPA is a Federal privacy law that gives parents, and students over the age of 18 years old or who enter college, certain rights with respect to their student’s educational records. FERPA requires that educational institutions, such as public school districts and post-secondary institutions, maintain the confidentiality of student educational records and personally identifiable information, except under limited circumstances. The regulations that govern FERPA are located at 34 C.F.R., Part 99. The new regulations will: (1) clarify the limited circumstances where state educational agencies (“SEAs”) and local educational agencies (“LEAs”) may disclose student information to assess the effectiveness of State and Federally-funded education programs; (2) detail the specific requirements for written agreements between SEAs and LEAs under the audit and evaluation exception and the studies exception and provides best practices for developing these written agreements; (3) strengthen and specify the authority of the U. S. Department of Education to enforce FERPA violations; and (4) allow LEAs to adopt limited directory information policies that allow the disclosure of directory information to specific parties, for specific purposes, or both. Scheuer, Yost & Patterson attorneys have provided legal analysis, counsel and representation to a variety of educational institutions, including public school districts, charter and private schools, and two- and four-year colleges for over twenty years. Attorneys with expertise in education law are Kristin L. Davidson, Charlotte H. Hetherington, and Tony F. Ortiz. In the News Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named Mel Yost as the “Santa Fe Best Lawyers Arbitration Lawyer of the Year” for 2012. After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2012) is based on more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity. Steven Naifeh, President of Best Lawyers, says, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for more than 25 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of praise in the legal profession. We would like to congratulate Mel Yost on being selected as the ‘Santa Fe Best Lawyers Arbitration Lawyer of the Year’ for 2012.” John N. Patterson, was named one of the Best Lawyers in Real Estate Law and Ralph H. Scheuer, was named one of the Best Lawyers in Trusts and Estates in the New Mexico's Best Lawyers, 2012 Edition. Upcoming Events Past Events
U.S. News & World Report released its 2011 "Best Law Firms" list and Scheuer, Yost & Patterson earned a first-tier ranking. U.S. News & World Report annually compiles survey results from more than 40,000 legal professionals and 50,000 businesses, including all Fortune 100 Companies, to identify the best law firms in more than 171 metropolitan markets. |
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