Senate bill aims to prevent schools from withholding student records for unpaid tuition

Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a bill seeking to prohibit schools from withholding or delaying the release of official student records for failure to pay tuition or other fees. 

Under Senate Bill 1964, or the proposed Right to Student Records Act, educational institutions are barred from withholding a student’s or a former student’s transcript of records, report cards, diplomas, certificates, and transfer credentials on the following grounds:

• Non-payment, in whole or in part, of tuition or other authorized school fees, in cases where the student is verified to be financially incapacitated;
• Intent to prevent the transfer of a student who has no outstanding financial obligation; and
• Discriminatory or retaliatory practices inconsistent with existing laws, rules, and regulations.

The bill also establishes a student records assistance mechanism to assist financially incapacitated students with verified outstanding balances to access their school records. 

For basic education, the assistance shall be administered by the Department of Education (DepEd) through its Government Assistance and Subsidies Office. 

For tertiary education, it will be administered by the Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST), in coordination with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). 

DepEd, CHED, and TESDA shall be given authority to receive and probe complaints filed by any student, former student, parent, or legal guardian about the matter.

Sanctions may include warnings, fines, suspensions, or other penalties consistent with the agencies’ respective regulatory frameworks. 

“This measure empowers parents, guardians, students, and former students to file written complaints before the appropriate educational authorities and institutionalizes the authority of the DepEd, CHED, and TESDA to investigate violations, impose administrative penalties, and monitor the compliance of educational institutions to ensure the Act is fully implemented,” Hontiveros said in the explanatory note. —VBL, GMA News