Owasso Independent School Dist. No. I-011 v. Falvo

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that peer grading does not violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The Court decided that a student's work does not become an "education record" protected by federal law until a teacher actually collects and records the grade.

This decision protects a common teaching method used in classrooms across the country. It ensures that teachers can continue to have students grade each other's work without fear of breaking federal privacy laws or losing school funding.

The case centered on the definition of "education records" maintained by a school. By limiting this definition, the Court prevented federal privacy laws from interfering with daily classroom activities and teacher-student interactions.

The Court voted 9-0 to reverse the lower court's decision. Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Breyer.

“Peer-graded items did not constitute education records protected by FERPA until a teacher collected the grades on the students' papers or other items and recorded the grades in the teacher's grade book.”

Peer grading is legal because student-graded papers are not official school records until the teacher enters the final score into a grade book.

Schools can continue using peer grading as an educational tool. Lower courts and school districts will use this ruling to determine which types of student information are truly private under federal law.

Falvo argued that peer grading embarrassed her children by exposing their grades to other students. She claimed this practice violated federal privacy laws that protect student education records.

The Court ruled that student graders only handle papers for a few moments, so the records are not "maintained" by the school at that point. A record is only maintained once it is officially collected and stored by a teacher or administrator.

No, the Court stated that a student who grades an assignment is not acting as an official representative of the school. This distinction means their actions do not trigger the strict privacy requirements of FERPA.

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals had originally ruled that peer grading did violate FERPA. The Supreme Court reversed this decision, meaning the school district's practice was allowed to continue.

The ruling allows teachers to continue using peer grading as a way to provide immediate feedback to students. It prevents teachers from having to change their grading methods to comply with strict federal privacy regulations.