118.125(3) (3) Maintenance of records. Each school board shall adopt rules in writing specifying the content of pupil records and the time during which pupil records shall be maintained. No behavioral records may be maintained for more than one year after the pupil ceases to be enrolled in the school, unless the pupil specifies in writing that his or her behavioral records may be maintained for a longer period. A pupil's progress records shall be maintained for at least 5 years after the pupil ceases to be enrolled in the school. A school board may maintain the records on microfilm, on an optical disk, or in electronic format if authorized under s. 19.21 (4) (c), or in such other form as the school board deems appropriate. A school board shall maintain law enforcement officers' records obtained under s. 48.396 (1) or 938.396 (1) (b) 2. or (c) 3. separately from a pupil's other pupil records. Rules adopted under this subsection shall be published by the school board as a class 1 notice under ch. 985.

118.125(4) (4) Transfer of records. Within 5 working days, a school district and a private school participating in the program under s. 118.60 or in the program under s. 119.23 shall transfer to another school, including a private or tribal school, or school district all pupil records relating to a specific pupil if the transferring school district or private school has received written notice from the pupil if he or she is an adult or his or her parent or guardian if the pupil is a minor that the pupil intends to enroll in the other school or school district or written notice from the other school or school district that the pupil has enrolled or from a court that the pupil has been placed in a juvenile correctional facility, as defined in s. 938.02 (10p), or a secured residential care center for children and youth, as defined in s. 938.02 (15g). In this subsection, "school" and "school district" include any juvenile correctional facility, secured residential care center for children and youth, adult correctional institution, mental health institute, or center for the developmentally disabled that provides an educational program for its residents instead of or in addition to that which is provided by public, private, and tribal schools.

118.125(5)(b) (b) Law enforcement officers' records obtained under s. 48.396 (1) or 938.396 (1) (b) 2. or (c) 3. and records of the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under chs. 48 and 938 or of a municipal court obtained under s. 938.396 (2g) (m) may not be used by a school district as the sole basis for expelling or suspending a pupil or as the sole basis for taking any other disciplinary action against a pupil, but may be used as the sole basis for taking action against a pupil under the school district's athletic code.

118.125 Annotation A public school student's interim grades are pupil records specifically exempted from disclosure under s. 118.125. A failure to specifically state reasons for denying an open records request for records that are specifically exempted from disclosure does not compel disclosure of those records. State ex rel. Blum v. Board of Education, 209 Wis. 2d 377, 565 N.W.2d 140 (Ct. App. 1997), 96-0758.

118.125 Annotation A court need not wait until trial to disclose pupil records under sub. (2) (f) and may instead base its decision on the review of deposition testimony. Sub. (2) (f) refers to an action, which is a much broader term than trial. A witness who has been deposed has testified in the action. Anderson v. Northwood School District, 2011 WI App 31, 332 Wis. 2d 134, 796 N.W.2d 874, 09-1881.

118.125 Annotation A court may not disclose confidential records under sub. (2) (f) merely because they are relevant to a plaintiff's claim. The court's gatekeeper role is to protect the privacy of the pupil whose records are sought, releasing only those records that may concern a specific witness's credibility or competency. Anderson v. Northwood School District, 2011 WI App 31, 332 Wis. 2d 134, 796 N.W.2d 874, 09-1881.

118.125 Annotation When neither defense counsel nor the school was familiar with the requirements of sub. (2) (f) and neither wholly complied with the statute during discovery when the school faxed the records directly to defense counsel upon defense counsel's request for records rather than provide them to the court for in camera inspection, the trial court was not correct to prohibit the defense from using the records. The trial court should have, upon receipt of the documents, conducted the in camera inspection required by the statute, while requiring the parties to keep the documents confidential. State v. Echols, 2013 WI App 58, 348 Wis. 2d 81, 831 N.W.2d 768, 12-0422.

118.126 118.126 Privileged communications.

118.126(1) (1) A school psychologist, counselor, social worker and nurse, and any teacher or administrator designated by the school board who engages in alcohol or drug abuse program activities, shall keep confidential information received from a pupil that the pupil or another pupil is using or is experiencing problems resulting from the use of alcohol or other drugs unless:

118.126(1)(b) (b) The school psychologist, counselor, social worker, nurse, teacher or administrator has reason to believe that there is serious and imminent danger to the health, safety or life of any person and that disclosure of the information to another person will alleviate the serious and imminent danger. No more information than is required to alleviate the serious and imminent danger may be disclosed; or

118.126(2) (2) A school psychologist, counselor, social worker or nurse, or any teacher or administrator designated by the school board who engages in alcohol or drug abuse program activities, who in good faith discloses or fails to disclose information under sub. (1) is immune from civil liability for such acts or omissions. This subsection does not apply to information required to be reported under s. 48.981.

118.127 118.127 Law enforcement agency information. A school district, private school, or tribal school may disclose information from law enforcement officers' records obtained under s. 938.396 (1) (c) 3. only to persons employed by the school district who are required by the department under s. 115.28 (7) to hold a license, to persons employed by the private school or tribal school as teachers, and to other school district, private school, or tribal school officials who have been determined by the school board or governing body of the private school or tribal school to have legitimate educational interests, including safety interests, in that information. In addition, if that information relates to a pupil of the school district, private school, or tribal school, the school district, private school, or tribal school may also disclose that information to those employees of the school district, private school, or tribal school who have been designated by the school board or governing body of the private school or tribal school to receive that information for the purpose of providing treatment programs for pupils enrolled in the school district, private school, or tribal school. A school district may not use law enforcement officers' records obtained under s. 938.396 (1) (c) 3. as the sole basis for expelling or suspending a pupil or as the sole basis for taking any other disciplinary action against a pupil, but may use law enforcement officers' records obtained under s. 938.396 (1) (c) 3. as the sole basis for taking action against a pupil under the school district's athletic code.