Are School Resource Officers (SROs) or other outside local law enforcement officials who serve as a school’s law enforcement unit automatically considered school officials?

No, not automatically. These officials may be considered “school officials” with “legitimate educational interests” and have access to students’ education records, but only if they:

1. Perform an institutional service or function for which the agency or institution would otherwise use employees;
2. Are under the direct control of the agency or institution with respect to the use and maintenance of education records;
3. Are subject to the requirements in § 99.33(a) that the personally identifiable information (PII) from education records may be used only for the purposes for which the disclosure was made, e.g., to promote school safety and the physical security of students, and governing the redisclosure of PII from education records; and
4. Meet the criteria specified in the school or LEA’s annual notification of FERPA rights for being a school official with a legitimate educational interest in the education records.