Law / United States / 
Montana
University system students: release of student records, separate academic records and no waiver of the right to privacy
Mont. Code Ann. §§ 20-25-512, 20-25-515, 20-25-516
In force.
A sensitive categories rule binding government bodies.
- Obligation class
- Access restriction, Consent, Data subject rights
- Audit expectation
- none
What it requires
- If you are a university or college, release a student's academic record only when the student requests it or a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction subpoenas it (section 20-25-515).
- Obtain the student's written permission before releasing any other kind of record, unless the record must have been subpoenaed by a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction (section 20-25-515).
- Keep academic records separate from disciplinary and all other records, and let a student examine all written summaries, descriptions, statements or reports of an academic or disciplinary nature compiled on the student (section 20-25-516).
- Do not require a student to sign any contract that would waive the student's right to privacy and due process of law (section 20-25-512).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What record it asks for
Logging duty
Sections 20-25-512, 20-25-515 and 20-25-516 limit release of a student's records, require academic records to be kept separate and let a student examine compiled reports. They set no log, retention period or audit. The sections state no territorial test.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Section 20-25-511 states the legislature's intent that an institution of the university system of Montana is obligated to respect a student's right of privacy, including the privacy of the student's records, and that a student may not be subjected to discrimination by the use of covert records. A university or college facility may not require a student to sign any contract that would waive the student's right to privacy and due process of law.
A university or college shall release a student's academic record only when requested by the student or by a subpoena issued by a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction. A student's written permission must be obtained before the university or college may release any other kind of record unless the record must have been subpoenaed by a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction.
Academic records must be kept separate from disciplinary and all other records, and a student has the right to examine all written summaries, descriptions, statements or reports of an academic or disciplinary nature compiled on the student. Sections 20-25-512, 20-25-515 and 20-25-516 were enacted by chapter 357, Laws of 1973; sections 20-25-512 and 20-25-516 were amended by chapter 56, Laws of 2009, and section 20-25-515 by chapter 399, Laws of 2025.
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