Share It, or Ask First? — TechKnowSurge

About this interactive

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 protects the information schools collect about students: grades, the classes they take, transcripts and GPA. It applies to schools that receive federal education funding. Who has the rights. A student's parents hold them until the student turns 18; then they pass to the student. (FERPA also passes them to a student who goes on to college at any age; the video gives 18 only.) The rights are to see the records, to ask for them to be amended (not a guarantee), and to control who else gets them. Disclosure. Before a school hands student information to a third party, the parent or eligible student has to consent. Directory information, such as the student's name, is the exception the lesson names: it can be shared without consent once the school has told families what it counts as directory information and given them a chance to opt out. Every card here assumes no family has opted out. The school's own teachers and staff who need the records for their work are not third parties, and parents (or the student, from 18) can see the records because they hold the rights. FERPA lists further exceptions that the lesson mentions without naming, such as a school the student is transferring to, a subpoena and a health or safety emergency; no card here turns on them. Schools send families a notice of their FERPA rights each year. Enforcement is by the Department of Education: a school that breaks FERPA can lose its federal funding. (The video speaks of stiff penalties; FERPA has no fines.)

What you'll learn

Decide whether a school may share a student's information without consent under FERPA (directory information such as the student's name, the school's own staff, or the parent or eligible student seeing their own records) or needs consent first (grades, classes, transcripts and GPA going to anyone else)

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

5.4 Summarize elements of effective security compliance.

ISC2 CISSP

1.4 Understand legal, regulatory, and compliance issues that pertain to information security in a holistic context

NIST NICE

K0678 Knowledge of privacy laws and regulations

Key terms

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: A U.S. federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents and eligible students the right to access, review, and request corrections to those records. Schools that receive federal funding must comply with FERPA's privacy protections.
Educational Records: Records, files, and documents that schools collect about students, including grades, transcripts, GPA, and class enrollment.
Directory Information: Designated student information, such as a student's name, that a school may disclose without prior consent under FERPA.
Disclosure: The release or transfer of student education record information to a third party, governed by consent requirements and exceptions under FERPA.

Topics

Ferpa Student Privacy Education Records Regulatory Compliance Interactive Streak Sort

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