An 8th grader could get kicked out of Wentzville Middle School Wednesday for groping a girl on the school bus. He said he didn't do it, but the school district won't let the family see the bus surveillance video.
So, what are your rights if there's school video of your kid that could be used against them?
The spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education told 5 On Your Side there is no state law that says whether parents can see video that's part of their children's school records. She said it's up to each district and their lawyers to develop their own policies.
RELATED: Wentzville 8th grader suspended, district won't allow family to see video of alleged incident
In Wentzville, the school district spokeswoman said their practice is to not show video out of respect for other students in it. 5 On Your Side asked if we could take our question to the district's lawyers, but she said no because of lawyer/client privilege.
The Federal Privacy law FERPA is at the center of this question.
5 On Your Side took explained this case to a U.S. Department of Education spokesperson. He said FERPA shouldn't be an issue.
"The short answer is that FERPA shouldn't prevent the suspended student's parents from seeing the video," he said.
A lawyer not involved in this case said school districts have to comply with FERPA, but they can go beyond FERPA. So, there's still some gray area, and we'll keep working to find an answer.
Officials in the Wentzville School District are meeting Wednesday morning to make a decision in the student's case.