College students retain the first amendment right to free speech on their college campuses. This includes the right to peaceful protest, open publication, religious freedom and assembly. Therefore students have the right to openly pray and start campus religious groups without suppression from the institution. Students also hold the right to assembly in the form of peaceful protests, social gatherings or any event in which students are not harmed and the education process remains uninterrupted.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act applies to postsecondary students over the age of 18 enrolled in an institution of higher learning. While rights under FERPA apply to parents of students under 18, when children reach adulthood these rights transfer to the student. FERPA protects student privacy by allowing the student access to his educational records, the right to amend these records, the right to personal disclosure of the records and the right to appeal to the Department of Education. These rights preserve the student's privacy concerning academic standing and achievement.
Since a 1972 Supreme Court ruling students have also maintained the right to vote in presidential elections from their campus. Since many students live on campus during the school year it is not feasible to return to their home district to vote. Yet because most college students are between 18 and 21 their first chance to vote in a presidential election is during college. Colleges therefore establish voting centers on campus to allow students their right. Since the 2000 elections serious opposition has been raised to this right with lawmakers citing fraud as a result of voting outside of districts. As of 2011 students and lawmakers still contest the full right of college students to vote.
Students of higher education with learning differences such as ADD or dyslexia are privy to certain rights that give them an equal chance of success in the college atmosphere. These rights include equal access to all the institution's social and academic programs, academic adjustments or accommodations granted on an individual bases and confidentiality of information. In return students must maintain college standards for enrollment and conduct. Students with disabilities are also not required to inform the institution of their disability before acceptance and the institution may not ask in order to maintain admissions fairness.