Clarification Regarding Confidentiality of Contents of Student Records. It is understood and agreed that federal and state laws pertaining to the confidentiality of student records, pursuant to 42 C.F.R. Part 2, N.J.S.A. 18A:40A-7.1 and 7.2 and N.J.A.C. 6A:32- 7, only prohibit the disclosure of the contents of such records; these laws do not extend to other sources of information concerning the same events or transactions that happen to be memorialized in the student records. Thus, for example, a teacher, counselor, administrator, or other school staff member who is a witness to criminal activity may be required to testify in a court or grand jury or may be required to report information to law enforcement authorities pursuant to this Agreement based upon personal knowledge and memory notwithstanding that the criminal activity reported or testified about has been recorded in a student record that is subject to state or federal confidentiality laws. In other words, the act by a school official of memorializing an incident, event, or observation in a student record in no way precludes that school official or any other material witness from reporting or testifying from personal knowledge as to the documented incident, event, or observation, provided, however, that nothing in this Agreement must be construed to authorize or require a school employee to divulge information or records in violation of the confidentiality requirements of 42 C.F.R. Part 2, or any other applicable state or federal regulation, law or rule of evidence concerning confidential and privileged communications. Furthermore, the records of a designated “law enforcement unit” do not constitute student records (20 U.S.C. 1232g(a)(4)(ii)).
