Oregon Department of Education
Chapter 581
Division 21
SCHOOL GOVERNANCE AND STUDENT CONDUCT
581-021-0225
Records of Law Enforcement Units
(1) “Law enforcement unit” means any individual, office, department, division, or other component of an educational agency or institution, such as a unit of commissioned police officers or noncommissioned security guards, that is officially authorized or designated by that agency or institution to:
(a) Enforce any local, state, or federal law, or refer to appropriate authorities a matter for enforcement of any local, state, or federal law against any individual or organization other than the agency or institution itself; or
(b) Maintain the physical security and safety of the agency or institution.
(2) A component of an educational agency or institution does not lose its status as a law enforcement unit if it also performs other, nonlaw enforcement functions for the agency or institution, including investigation of incidents or conduct that constitutes or leads to a disciplinary action or proceedings against the student.
(3) Records of a law enforcement unit means those records, files, documents, and other materials that are:
(a) Created by a law enforcement unit;
(b) Created for a law enforcement purpose; and
(c) Maintained by the law enforcement unit.
(4) Records of a law enforcement unit does not mean:
(a) Records created by a law enforcement unit for a law enforcement purpose that are maintained by a component of the educational agency or institution other than the law enforcement unit; or
(b) Records created and maintained by a a law enforcement unit exclusively for a nonlaw enforcement purpose, such as a discplinary action or proceeding conducted by the educational agency or institution.
(5) Nothing in this rule prohibits an educational agency or institution from contacting its law enforcement unit, orally or in writing, for the purpose of asking that unit to investigate a possible violation of, or to enforce, any local, state, or federal law.
(6) Education records, and personally identifiable information contained in education records, do not lose their status as education records and remain subject to the Act, including the disclosure provisions of OAR 581-021-0330, while in the possession of the law enforcement unit.
(7) This rule neither requires nor prohibits the disclosure by an educational agency or institution of its law enforcement unit records.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 326.565 & 34 CFR § 99.8
History:
EB 20-1995, f. & cert. ef. 7-25-95