Education records and applicant records; public records exemption.

(1) Each public postsecondary educational institution may prescribe the content and custody of records that the institution may maintain on its students and applicants for admission. A student’s education records, as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, and the federal regulations issued pursuant thereto, and applicant records are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For the purpose of this subsection, applicant records are records that are:

(a) Directly related to an applicant for admission to a public postsecondary educational institution who has not been in attendance at the institution; and

(b) Maintained by a public postsecondary educational institution or by a party acting on behalf of the public postsecondary educational institution.

(2)(a) A public postsecondary educational institution may not release a student’s education records without the written consent of the student to any individual, agency, or organization, except in accordance with and as permitted by the FERPA.

(b) Education records released by public postsecondary educational institutions to the Auditor General or the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, which are necessary for such agencies to perform their official duties and responsibilities, must be used and maintained by the Auditor General and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability in accordance with the FERPA.