Section Summary:

A. Privacy-Related Laws That Apply to Agencies and Schools

• Federal privacy laws apply to education agencies, institutions, and schools that receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education.
• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act establishes the broad privacy protections for education records.
• The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment gives parents rights to review their child's records.
• Other federal laws, such as IDEA, affect data collection, maintenance, and disclosure procedures.

• FERPA grants parents, and students over eighteen, access to education records and restricts disclosure of this information without their consent.
• Districts' written privacy policies ensure the uniform application of FERPA.
• FERPA protects most information collected by schools about students. However, teachers' informal notes, records of school-based law enforcement units, and employment records do not fall under the jurisdiction of this law.
• Directory information of individual students may be released without prior consent. However, school districts must give public notice of what is considered in this category.
• The U.S. Department of Education does not require local education agencies to notify parents or eligible students individually of their rights, but agencies must provide notice where it is likely to be seen.
• Parents and eligible students may inspect, review, and request to amend education records.
• FERPA restricts release of information without prior consent. However, FERPA allowsdisclosure if officials have a legitimate educational interest in gaining access to the information.
• FERPA restricts records matching and redisclosures of private information to third parties. It also established penalties for inappropriate redisclosure.
• In 1996, new provisions clarified FERPA, making it easier for school officials to understand the law's central requirements.

• PPRA applies to programs that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education. This law requires that schools and contractors obtain written consent from the parents before minor students are required to participate in a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals certain information.
• PPRA requires education agencies to establish procedures for parents to follow if they believe their rights are violated under PPRA.

• The privacy of special education records is protected by FERPA and by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
• Any participating agency or institution that collects, maintains, or uses personally identifiable information about students with disabilities must protect the privacy of these special education records.
• Records pertaining to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of children with disabilities and the free and appropriate public education must be available for inspection by parents.
• Agencies must maintain, for public inspection, a list of employees who have access to personally identifiable information.
• State and local education agencies must designate a person who is trained in privacy protection policies and procedures to serve as the custodian of the special education records of children with disabilities.

• Education records may be protected by laws administered simultaneously by other state and federal agencies, as well as by the U.S. Department of Education.
• The National School Lunch Act of 1994 protects the privacy of information that agencies collect and from families of children who are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals.
• Confidentiality regulations apply to records of students who receive assistance or treatment under laws administered by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
• The federal Office of Management and Budget reviews and approves the federally administered questionnaires, surveys, or forms before they are to be used by state and local education agencies and programs that receive federal funds.
• The Privacy Act of 1974 stipulates allowable uses of social security numbers by government agencies and gives individuals the right to refuse to disclose or use their social security numbers except for the purposes defined by the social security law.

• Experts in government offices and education organizations can assist education agencies in protecting the privacy of education records.

 
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