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This article summarizes the results of a survey completed by senior judicial officers at 189 colleges and universities. The survey concerned institutional responses to a section of the Higher Education Reauthorization Act of 1998 that allows, but does not require, institutions to notify parents of students under the age of 21 who have violated institutional alcohol policies. The study found that, as of January 2000, 44% of the participating institutions had implemented parental notification policies; 15% did not have policies, but notified parents in practice; and 25% were actively considering adopting policies. Factors triggering and inhibiting development of parental notification policies, circumstances under which notification is allowed by policy and implemented in practice, notification procedures and frequencies, support of policies by parents notified, and effects of policies on numbers of alcohol violations on campus were also assessed in this study.

With the passage of Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 was amended to make it substantially easier for institutions of higher education to notify parents when their students violate institutional policies or laws concerning alcohol and other drugs. This study examines how common parental notification policies are in the wake of this legislative change, factors deemed important in adopting such policies, the structure of the policies, reactions to the policies, and the perceived impact of the policies on alcohol violations.

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