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House gives school boards discretion to withhold student directory information
Summary
House Bill 127 passed unanimously to allow school boards to withhold student directory information from public records; sponsors said the bill clarifies existing law and gives local boards authority to protect student privacy.
The Ohio House on May 27 passed House Bill 127, which clarifies that local school boards may withhold student directory information from public release and may remove directory information from the statutory public-record definition.
Representative Adam Matthews, sponsor of the bill, said current law classifies a broad set of student data as public record and creates uncertainty about whether a board may withhold the information in some circumstances. "House Bill 127 clears up this ambiguity by explicitly allowing school boards to withhold this information if they choose," Matthews said.
Representative Odioso, a joint sponsor, said the measure simply empowers school boards to make decisions in the best interest of their students and communities and that any board that chooses to release directory information must apply limitations uniformly to all requesters under existing law. The bill passed the House 91-0; the title was amended on the floor and agreed to without objection.
Discussion vs. decision: lawmakers framed the change as a local-authority and privacy clarification rather than a statewide prohibition; the bill gives permissive authority to school boards and does not compel withholding in every case.
