May a school withhold records from a requesting school because a student did not pay book fees or other school fees?
No. The statute says a school “shall” release the records upon request. School records are official documents and do not “belong” to public schools like they do to private schools. Private schools may refuse to release records that they produced. In the opinion of the State Attendance Officer, private schools may not refuse to release records that were produced in public school at taxpayers’ expense. See I.C. 20-33-2-10. The statute’s use of the term “school” in this statute is not limited to public schools. Some public schools still try to withhold school records due to a parent’s failure to pay school fees. Indiana Code 20-33-5-11 specifically prohibits the withholding of benefits and privileges of education from a public school child due to the parent’s failure to pay required fees.
Related Questions
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