FERPA

In 1974, Congress enacted the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to guarantee students access to their educational records and to prohibit dissemination of educational records without the student’s consent.

Congress recently enacted an amendment to FERPA that enables an educational institution to disclose details of disciplinary action against a student for conduct that poses a significant risk to the safety of others in the school community.

Student information of any type should be handled with care, whether subject to FERPA or not. Some student records contain highly sensitive personal information subject to other privacy laws - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Personal Information Protection Act. Directory information, even acknowledgement that someone is a student, may not be released for students who request suppression of directory information. District policy prohibits the release of lists of information, including directory information, except for a legitimate educational purpose.