The District Board of Trustees of Santa Fe College, Florida (the College), Appel-lee, has moved for rehearing, rehearing en banc, and certification of a question of great public importance. We grant the motion for rehearing to affirm the trial court’s dismissal of Count One; the motions for rehearing en banc and certification are denied. We withdraw our prior opinion and substitute the following opinion in its place.
Darnell Rhea appeals an order dismissing his second amended complaint, with prejudice, in his lawsuit against the College. Rhea’s pleading comprised a petition for writ of mandamus alleging a violation of Florida’s public records laws (Count One) and a petition for declaratory judgment alleging a violation of a college rule (Count Two). Concluding, as the trial court did, that Rhea has not stated a cause of action in either count, we affirm the dismissal order.
I. Pleadings and Procedural History
The second amended complaint alleged two claims. Count One, titled “Petition for Writ of Mandamus Violation of the Public Records Act,” alleged that from August to December 2009, Rhea was an adjunct associate professor under the supervision of the Chairman of the Academic Foundations Department (the Chair) at the College, a state college created and operated under chapter 1001, Florida Statutes. On September 28, 2009, Rhea asked the Chair for a complete copy of a certain e-mail received in the normal course of the Chair’s employment with the College. Rhea had previously received a copy of the e-mail with the name of the student author redacted. The Chair refused to comply with Rhea’s repeated requests to disclose the author’s name, on the ground that the student’s identity is protected from disclosure under the protection provided for education records in the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. section 1232g (2009). The student gave no written consent to disclosure of his or her name. Count One alleged the e-mail, including the student’s name, is a public record and, by refusing to disclose the complete, unredacted public record to Rhea, the College violated the law.
The e-mail in question complains of Rhea’s inappropriate classroom behavior, his humiliating remarks to the students, and his unorthodox teaching methodologies. Rhea denied all of the negative email allegations. He alleged, however, that he was effectively prevented from defending himself by demonstrating that the unnamed student was not in a position to comment fairly and accurately on his teaching methods and classroom conduct. Rhea asserted that neither the Florida statutes nor FERPA protects from disclosure the name of a student who writes an e-mail like the one in question. Rhea argued that pursuant to FERPA, a student’s complaint about the teaching methods and classroom behavior of a public, postsecond-ary school employee who is not a student at the school is not an education record because it relates only tangentially, not directly, to the student. It is, instead, solely a teacher record and thus is not protected from disclosure under FERPA.
Count One alleged further that as a result of the Chair’s unlawful refusal to give Rhea the unredaeted e-mail, the College did not rehire Rhea, and he suffered damages. Count One requested a jury trial, damages, and attorney’s fees and costs. This count also asserted Rhea’s
Count Two is titled “Petition for Declaratory Judgment Violation of Agency Rules.” Rhea alleged that while the College is authorized to make rules that have the force of law, it has a corresponding duty to abide by its own rules. He sought a declaration of his rights under the College’s rule 7.36 of the “Student Complaint Procedure: Students and Administration,” which sets out procedures for students who wish to register a complaint against any employee of the College. The second count alleged that Rhea had a right under rule 7.36 to discuss any complaint from a student and to seek resolution of the complaint, before Rhea’s supervisor heard of or saw the student’s concern or complaint. The pleading asserted that the College had violated rule 7.36 and its duty to follow its own rules, as a result of which Rhea was not rehired and suffered personal harm. In addition to the request for declaratory relief, Count Two requested a jury trial, damages, and attorney’s fees and costs.
The College moved to dismiss both counts of the second amended complaint with prejudice and to strike Rhea’s claims for attorney’s fees and damages. After a hearing on the motions to dismiss and to strike, the trial court concluded, on Count One, that state and federal law do not require the College to provide Rhea with an unredacted copy of the e-mail. According to the court, the College is bound by state and federal law proscribing the College’s disclosure of an unredacted copy containing the student author’s name. On Count Two, the court found no justiciable issue as to the existence of any right Rhea may have under rule 7.36, nor did the court find a bona-fide, actual, and present need for a declaration. Because the second amended complaint represented Rhea’s third attempt to file a legally sufficient claim, and it was deemed inadequate, the trial court exercised its discretion to dismiss the latest pleading with prejudice. Boca Burger, Inc. v. Forum,
II. Analysis
A motion to dismiss raises a question of law as to whether the facts alleged in the complaint are sufficient to state a cause of action. Meyers v. City of Jacksonville,
To be entitled to a writ of mandamus, Rhea must establish that “he has a clear legal right to the performance of a clear legal duty by a public officer and that he has no other legal remedies available to him.” Hatten v. State,
On the question of whether Count One states a cause of action, we look first to Florida public records law. Where purely legal issues of whether a document is a public record and subject to disclosure are involved, we have de novo review. State v. City of Clearwater,
A citizen’s access to public records is a fundamental constitutional right in Florida. Article I, section 24(a) of the Florida Constitution (the “Sunshine Amendment”) grants [e]very person ... the right to inspect or copy any public record made or received in connection with the official business of any public body, officer, or employee of the state, or persons acting on their behalf.” This “self-executing” right to open records is enforced through the Public Records Law, chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes. It is the duty of each agency
The Florida Supreme Court has construed the definition of public records to encompass all materials made or received by an agency, in connection with official business, which are used to “perpetuate, communicate or formalize knowledge of some type.” Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid & Assocs., Inc.,
An exemption to Florida’s Public Records Law exists for a student’s “education records.” This exemption provides that “[a] public postsecondary educational institution may not release a student’s education records without the written consent of the student to any individual ..., except in accordance with and as permitted by the FERPA.” § 1006.52(2), Fla. Stat. (2009). The Legislature has adopted FERPA’s definition of “education records.” § 1002.225(1), Fla. Stat. (2009). Thus, it was incumbent upon the trial court to look to FERPA, 20 U.S.C. section 1232g, to determine whether Rhea stated a cause of action that the unredacted e-mail must be disclosed, i.e., that the College must reveal the student’s name.
FERPA protects “education records” (and personally identifiable information contained therein) from improper disclosure.
in the case of persons who are employed by an educational agency or institution but who are not in attendance at such agency or institution, records made and maintained in the normal course of business which relate exclusively to such person in that person’s capacity as an employee and are not available for use for any other purpose.
20 U.S.C. § 1232g(a)(4)(B)(iii).
Rhea contends that the e-mail at issue does not directly relate to its student author, and for this reason is not an “education record” within the meaning of FER-PA. For support, Rhea relies on Ellis v. Cleveland Municipal School District,
The issue in Ellis was whether FERPA covered incident reports related to physical altercations between substitute teachers and students, student and employee witness statements related to these incidents, and information related to subsequent discipline, if any, imposed on the teachers. Id. at 1021. Addressing “teacher discipline information,” the court explained:
In her document requests, plaintiff seeks records involving allegations of physical altercations engaged in by substitute teachers as well as student and employee witness statements related to those altercations.... Such records do not implicate FERPA because they do not contain information “directly related to a student.” While theserecords dearly involve students as alleged victims and witnesses, the records themselves are directly related to the activities and behaviors of the teachers themselves and are therefore not governed by FERPA.
Id. at 1022-23 (internal citations and quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added). Ellis stands for the proposition that “FERPA applies to the disclosure of student records, not teacher records.” Id. at 1022.
The federal district court in Wallace v. Cranbrook Educational Community, No. 05-73446,
Relying on Ellis, the Wallace court concluded that the student statements did not “directly relate to students” and were therefore not “education records” under FERPA. Id. at *4. The court noted that the statements were not education records for the additional reason that they related to Wallace in his capacity as an employee and thus qualified as an exception pursuant to 20 U.S.C. section 1232g(a)(4)(B)(iii). Because the records were not education records, the court found “no reason to redact the statements as they are not protected from disclosure by FERPA.”
Like the courts in Ellis and Wallace, we believe the plain language of FERPA supports the distinction between information that is directly related to a student and that which is related to a student only tangentially or indirectly. By including the qualifier “directly” before “related,” Congress excluded by inference any information relating only indirectly to a student from the purview of the information covered under the “education records” definition. See Gay v. Singletary,
The scope of the words “directly related” is still, however, quite broad. See United States v. Miami Univ.,
According to the allegations in Rhea’s complaint, the unredacted e-mail he seeks to obtain identifies the student and the student’s enrollment in his class. Further, the e-mail describes that student’s personal impressions of the classroom educational atmosphere in the context of Rhea’s teaching and methodology. The student’s knowledge of, and connection to, the information conveyed in the e-mail is not merely peripheral or tangential. As a member of the class, the student claimed to have experienced the treatment described in the e-mail, and the e-mail is the student’s own words. Although Rhea may be the primary subject of the e-mail, the e-mail also directly relates to its student author.
We reject any suggestion advanced by Rhea that a record cannot relate directly both to a student and to a teacher. If a record contains information directly related to a student, then it is irrelevant under the plain language in FERPA that the record may also contain information directly related to a teacher or another person.
In dismissing Count One with prejudice, the trial court concluded that, having been given several opportunities to amend his pleading, Rhea failed to state a claim that the unredacted e-mail is not directly related to a student for purposes of FERPA. Because the plain, unambiguous language of section 1232g(a)(4)(A)(i) compels the trial court’s ruling, we affirm the dismissal with prejudice.
Rhea’s second count sought declaratory relief. Circuit courts have jurisdiction “to declare rights, status, and other equitable or legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed.” § 86.011, Fla. Stat. (2009). As the party seeking a declaration of rights, Rhea has the burden to demonstrate entitlement. Groover v. Adiv Holding Co.,
To be entitled to a declaratory judgment, Rhea must demonstrate that (1) a good-faith dispute exists between the parties; (2) he presently has a justiciable question concerning the existence or nonexistence of a right or status, or some fact on which such right or status may depend; (3) he is in doubt regarding his right or status under the College’s rule 7.36; and (4) a bona-fide, actual, present, and practical need for the declaration exists. May v. Holley,
Rhea sought a declaration of his rights under the College’s rule 7.36. For students who want to register a complaint against any employee of the College, the rule’s procedures require the student, first, to “[sjtate the complaint to the College employee involved and attempt to resolve the problem.” Only if the problem remains unresolved is the student to proceed to the next step, contacting the College employee’s immediate supervisor or a counselor for assistance. The rule also dictates the procedure the administration is required to take upon receipt of a complaint or concern.
Defending against Count Two, the College argued that the student’s e-mail did not rise to the level of a complaint and never triggered the mandatory procedures in rule 7.36. Specifically, the College characterized the e-mail as an informal student comment or concern, rather than a filed, formal complaint.
We need not determine what right Rhea may have had to a declaration under rule 7.36 when he discovered the student author of the e-mail had proceeded directly to the administration without attempting first to resolve the issues with Rhea. A petition for declaratory relief must show “some useful purpose will be served” by the relief sought. Kendrick v. Everheart,
Notes
. Appellee, which is part of the state system of community colleges established and governed by chapter 1001, Part III, Florida Statutes (2009), is a state agency. § 119.011(2), Fla. Stat. (2009) (defining agency as "any state, county, district, authority, or municipal officer, department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created or established by law ... and any other public or private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf of any public agency”).
. FERPA, commonly known as the “Buckley Amendment,” does not prohibit disclosure of education records. Rather, it provides for the withholding of federal funds from educational institutions that have a policy or practice of permitting the release of such records. 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(l).
. See, e.g., Briggs v. Bd. of Trs. Columbus State Cmty. Coll., No. 2:08-CV-644,
. Although this Court relied on the Ellis court’s distinction between directly and tangentially related information to require the disclosure of certain documents in National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Associated Press,
. Rhea did not assert any due-process right to know the student author’s identity in the context of a college formal disciplinary proceeding. The narrow issue presented by Rhea on appeal in this count is whether the e-mail contains information "directly related” to a student, triggering FERPA protections and exempting this record from Florida’s chapter 119 requirements. We express no opinion as to whether the requirements of due process could, in some instances, supersede FERPA.
. Given that the trial court’s dismissal order addressed only Rhea’s request for disclosure of "the e-mail in question” and the court did not rule on the broader request for disclosure of any other student complaints made about Rhea, we confine our discussion to the redacted student e-mail addressed in the trial court.