We all know the acronym FERPA equates to privacy of student educational information. While these protections of personal information are important, they can have a tendency to create a fear reaction in university faculty and staff-- what if I accidentally disclose something I shouldn't?-- and so we err on the side of caution and on the side of non-disclosure. This is a good rule of thumb, but it is also important to know that you can share information with faculty, human resources staff, counselors, and other "officials" at the university who have a legitimate educational interest in that information, or in the case of emergencies where sharing FERPA-protected information is relevant to protecting the health or safety of anyone in the university community. This means that if you are worried about a student's academics, their own imminent well-being, or the well-being of others, you can share pertinent information with relevant parties, as defined by the legal code.
The Department of Education is not interested in baselessly pursuing faculty or staff who were acting with students' best interests in mind. The Department of Education, in its own words in the FERPA policy (§ 99.36 of FERPA) , errs on the side of trusting the educational institution and its representatives to share information only as needed for the safety and well-being of students and the university community.
Read below to learn more.
When can I share information that is protected under FERPA?
Before you decide to share any information, know that documentation is required of what was shared, to whom, their reason for needing to know, and why. Read the specific information that needs to be documented here, from the legal code.
The easiest and most clear way to ensure you are allowed to share information protected under FERPA is with an authorization form signed by the student. Requirements for authorized consent can be found here.
However, FERPA also allows university faculty and staff to share information protected under FERPA without the student's signed consent under the following circumstances:
Faculty/staff may disclose, without consent, personally identifiable information from the education record of a student "to other school officials, including teachers, within the institution if the purpose of disclosure is for legitimate educational interests." (§ 99.31 of FERPA)
Faculty/staff may disclose, without consent, personally identifiable information from the education record of a student "to any appropriate party, including parents of an eligible student, in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals." (§ 99.36 of FERPA)
Specifically, "if there is an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of a student or other individuals, faculty/staff may disclose information from education records to any person whose knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals." (§ 99.36 of FERPA)
In fact, to put you at ease if you are unsure of whether it is okay to share information when you are worried about a significant threat to a student's health or safety, the legal code specifically states: "If, based on the information available at the time of the determination, there is a rational basis for the determination, the Department will not substitute its judgment for that of the educational agency or institution in evaluating the circumstances and making its determination." (§ 99.36 of FERPA)