AN ACT to exempt personally identifiable student disciplinary records at public institutions of higher education from the public records act.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 116‑43.17 reads as rewritten:

§ 116‑43.17.  Confidentiality of research data, records, and information of a proprietary nature.certain records.

(a)        Definitions. – The following definitions shall apply in this section:

(1)        Personally identifiable information. – Any of the following information:

a.         The name of a student.

b.         The name of the parent or other family member of a student.

c.         The address of a student or the student's family.

d.         Any personal identifier for a student, including social security number, student number, or biometric record.

e.         Any indirect identifier for a student, including date of birth, place of birth, or mother's maiden name.

f.          Any other information, alone or in combination, that is linked or linkable to a specific student and that would allow a reasonable person in the community of the public institution of higher education where the student attends, who does not have personal knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to identify the student with reasonable certainty.

g.         Any information requested by a person who the public institution of higher education reasonably believes knows the identity of the student to whom the information relates.

(2)        Personally identifiable student disciplinary records. – Any records, including materials that are described in G.S. 132‑1(a), that meet all of the following criteria:

a.         Are made, received, or maintained by a public institution of higher education.

b.         Contain personally identifiable information of or about a student.

c.         Are related to a complaint, investigation, or resolution of an alleged violation of or noncompliance with the disciplinary or conduct rules or other policy of a public institution of higher education.

(3)        Public institution of higher education. – Any of the following:

a.         The University of North Carolina.

b.         A constituent institution of The University of North Carolina, as defined in G.S. 116‑2(4), that is an institution of higher education.

c.         The Community Colleges System Office, as defined in G.S. 115D‑3.

d.         A community college, as defined in G.S. 115D‑2(2).

(4)        Student. – Any individual (i) who attends or has attended a public institution of higher education and (ii) about whom the public institution of higher education maintains records.

(b)        Confidentiality of Certain Records. – The following are not public records under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes:

(1)        Research data, records, or information of a proprietary nature, produced or collected by or for state institutions of higher learning in the conduct of commercial, scientific, or technical research where the data, records, or information has not been patented, published, or copyrighted are not public records as defined by G.S. 132‑1.copyrighted.

(2)        Personally identifiable student disciplinary records, even if release of the records would be permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (34 C.F.R. Part 99). Nothing in this subdivision is intended to limit the disclosure of public records that do not contain personally identifiable information.

SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 115D‑78 reads as rewritten:

§ 115D‑78.  Access to information and public records; small business counseling information.

(a)        In accordance with Chapter 132 of the General Statutes, all rules, regulations and public records of the State Board of Community Colleges, the Community Colleges System Office, and local boards of trustees shall be available for examination and reproduction on payment of fees by any person.

(a1)      As provided in G.S. 116‑43.17, personally identifiable student disciplinary records are not public records under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes.

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SECTION 1.(c)  G.S. 132‑1.2 reads as rewritten:

§ 132‑1.2.  Confidential information.

Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to require or authorize a public agency or its subdivision to disclose any information that:

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(11)      Reveals personally identifiable student disciplinary records in violation of G.S. 116‑43.17.

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to requests for personally identifiable student disciplinary records submitted on or after that date.