Is it legal for Arizona State University officials to give student contact information to a political campaign?

Not only is it lawful for ASU officials to share student contact information, they are legally obligated to do so in response to public records requests. 

Arizona public records law dictates that records of public universities overseen by the state’s Board of Regents—including ASU, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University—are public unless covered explicitly by a statute protecting their confidentiality. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of students’ educational records but allows for the disclosure of “directory information.” 

Directory information includes names, addresses and phone numbers, along with other basic information, like majors and dates of attendance, unless a student opts out. To opt out at ASU, students must file a form with the university.

This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one. 

The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.