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Objectives

This presentation is designed to:

• Present the basics of FERPA

• Define and explain rules for confidentiality

• Increase an awareness of school district

responsibilities regarding privacy of student

records, including student data

• Provide implications for school board

policies and procedures

FERPA

FAMILY

EDUCATIONAL

RIGHTS AND

PRIVACY

ACT

Federal Law Violation

• Nikolas Cruz – Parkland, FL school

shooter and former high school student

• Broward County S.D. released

information on Cruz to the Sun

Sentinel newspaper based on a judge’s

order to give the reports to the media

• Some information was intended to be

redacted

• Details released included the district’s

mishandling of Cruz’s request to return

to a school for students with

disabilities (Also IDEA violation)

• District faulted the newspaper for

publishing the information

• Board’s attorneys (without board

approval) requested that the newspaper

be held in contempt of court

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FERPA

Under FERPA, parents and students are

granted very specific and extensive rights

regarding confidential information

contained in education records.

Parents are given the right to inspect, to

control to a degree, and to challenge

information maintained on their child.

Rights transfer to a student when he/she

reaches the age of 18 or attends a school

beyond the high school level

• Passed in 1974, amended in 1996

• New regulations in effect January 9, 2009

• Applies to all schools that receive federal funds

• Also called the “Buckley Amendment”

FERPA

Federal law

Passed in 1974, amended in 1996

Occasionally updated

Applies to all schools that receive

funds from the U.S. Department of

Education

Known as the “Buckley Amendment”

GOAL of FERPA

To prohibit the unauthorized

disclosure of personally identifiable

information (PII) from student records.

This goal will apply without regard to

the format of the record (written,

video, or electronic).

Importance of Confidentiality

• If violations are found, federal funds

may be withheld

• Parents may proceed in a private civil

action against the school district

seeking redress for violations

• It’s the right thing to do!

Data Breach

• Papers containing data regarding a special

needs assessment for a 7th grader named

Kevin were thrown in the trash behind a

middle school.

• Wind blew the papers out of the trash, and a

student grabbed some and read them.

• Data included Kevin’s IQ score,

psychological data, behavioral information,

and family history.

• Student and his friends passed the

information around the school.

• Kevin was taunted relentlessly; called

stupid, dumb, retard.

• Kevin’s family sued the school district.

• Jury found the school district liable for

$60,000 in past damages; $80,000 in future

damages; $45,000 in legal fees to the

family.

But – what about the damage to Kevin?

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Definitions

• Confidentiality

– Protecting all personally identifiable data

(PII) - information and records used or kept

by the school district about a student

– Applies to discussions about a student and

the student’s record

– Could apply to bus, classroom, hallway,

and performance/sporting event videos

Definitions

• Disclosure

– Permitting access to, the release, transfer,

and other communication of educational

records of a child or youth

– This includes disclosure made:

• orally

• in writing

• by any other means, including electronic

transfer of information (ex. Fax, text, email etc.)

Definitions

• Redact

--- To remove text or images from an

original document.

• Expunge

--- To cut out, white-out or black-out parts

of a document.

Usually justified for confidentially reasons

Definition Of Education Records

Records, files, documents and other materials

which contain information directly related to a

student and are maintained by an educational

agency or institution, or by a person acting for

such agency or institution.

May include emails (contradicting court case

results)

Security Camera Video

• A group of male students was involved in

an altercation outside of a classroom at a

middle school.

• A surveillance camera recorded the

incident.

• Parents of one of the students requested to

view the video.

• District determined that the video was an

education record protected by FERPA.

• Parents filed a complaint in trial court to

compel the district to produce a copy of the

video.

• Trial court ruled that the record being

sought by the parent was an education

record because it contained personally

identifiable information of other students.

• Trial court also ruled that the district had to

produce a redacted version of the video if

the parent paid the cost.

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Personally Identifiable

Information (PII)

Name of student, student’s parents or other family

member

Address of the student

Any personal identifier (SS #)

A list of personal characteristics that would make

it possible to identify the student

Personally Identifiable

Information (PII)

Data or information that include any of the

following:

• personal and family data

• evaluation and test data

• medical, psychological, and progress

reports

• written accounts of conferences

• any other information used in working

with the student

Education records not covered in this section

include records of instructional, supervisory and

administrative personnel which are in the sole

possession of the maker and are not revealed or

accessible to any other person. If the teacher

keeps notes on a student, but shows them to NO

ONE, and these notes are kept in a secure manner

or location, these notes are not considered

education records.

Directory Information

May Be Disclosed If:

Parents are annually given public notice of

the types of information designated as

directory information

AND

Given opportunity to refuse release

Directory Information

Most schools have stopped printing

directories, but the following information may

be included with parent permission.

Student’s name

Student’s address

Student’s telephone number

Student’s date and place of birth

Student’s major field of study

Directory Information

Participation in officially recognized sports

and activities

Student’s weight, height – if member of an

athletic team

Dates of attendance

Degree, awards received

Most recent educational institution or

agency attended

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Right To Inspect And Review Records

The rights of parents to inspect and review records is clearly spelled out in federal regulations.

Right to review records within a reasonable period of time of written request

Right to have representative review records

Right to response to requests for explanation and interpretation of records

Right to inspect only information related to own child

Rights extend to both parents unless otherwise indicated by law

Right to obtain copies of records

Sole Possession Records

Sole Possession Records are exempt from parent access if they meet the following:

• Must be a private note created solely by the individual possessing the note

• Must be a personal memory aid

AND/OR

• The information in the note must not be accessible or revealed to any other person

The implication is that teachers and staff should be careful what they put in writing and with whom they share it!

Consent for DisclosuresFederal regulations spell out the process for

consent for disclosure of education records.

Annual written notification of right to consent to

disclosures

Written consent signed and dated, including

• specification of records disclosed

• purpose of disclosure

• parties to whom disclosure is made

Copy of disclosed records provided to parent

upon request

Third party disclosure prohibited without written

consent of parent

Conditions Where Prior Consent

Not Required

Disclosure within agency with legitimate

education interest

Transfer records

Directory information

Audit purposes

Subpoenas or court order

Financial aid

Health and safety emergencies

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Remember ---

WHEN IN DOUBT ---

DON’T GIVE IT OUT!

Check school board policy.

Check with school board attorney.

Destruction Of Information

Records are not destroyed if there is an

outstanding inspection request

Parents informed when information no

longer needed

Information no longer needed destroyed at

parents' request

Permanent record maintained

Board policy on destruction of information

which complies with state guidelines

PPRA

PROTECTION OF

PUPIL

RIGHTS

AMENDMENT

PPRA

Protects the rights of students and

parents:

1. To ensure that schools and

contractors make instructional

materials available for inspection by

parents if those materials will be

used in connection with an ED-

funded survey, analysis, or

evaluation in which their children

participate

2. To ensure that schools and contractors

obtain written parental consent before

minor students are required to

participate in any ED-funded survey,

analysis, or evaluation that reveals

specific information:

political affliations

sex and behavior attitudes

problems potentially embarrassing

to student and his/her family

income

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What Did You Say?

• Four teachers are in the teacher’s lounge at

Careful Elementary after school.

• A fifth, very irritated, teacher comes into

the lounge and begins talking in an agitated

tone about how frustrated she is with Grady,

how slow he is in completing assignments,

how disrespectful he is when talking to her,

and how uncooperative his parents are when

she attempts to talk to them about his

learning and behavior issues.

• At 4:00 p.m. that same day, Mr. EnCharge,

the superintendent, receives a telephone call

from Grady’s mother regarding the

teacher’s comments about her son in the

lounge a few minutes ago.

• One of the teachers in the lounge was a

substitute teacher who was a friend of

Grady’s mother. The sub immediately

called Grady’s mother from her cell phone

in her car in the parking lot.

• Now - what will Mr. EnCharge do?

Confidentiality In Practice

The area of confidentiality is very important.

Educators must be aware of:

Confidentiality laws and requirements

Complying with procedures regarding written

educational records

Being sensitive to violations of confidentiality in

verbal exchanges with others

Confidentiality May Be Violated

When staff discusses a child in

inappropriate places or situations

When staff repeats gossip or rumors about a

child or his family

School Data WallsBest Middle School Ever has a data wall in

the school’s conference room.

The data wall contains the name of each

student in the school and each student’s test

scores in each tested subject area next to the

student’s name.

A counselor uses the room for a parent

conference.

Was student confidentiality affected?

Gossip vs. Professional Sharing

of Information

When talking to a colleague

about a student or his/her family,

apply these four tests to

determine if the discussion may

be violation of the student’s

confidentiality rights.

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Four Tests

1. What is discussed

2. Where the discussion takes place

3. Who is listening

4. Why the discussion took place

What Is Discussed

• If the discussion involves directory information (name, address, etc.) there is no problem unless the parent has refused to have this information released

• If the discussion involves other personally identifiable information that is confidential (disability, family data, etc.), the parties should be sure that legitimate educational interest is involved

• If the discussion involves information that is rumor, opinion, or hearsay, chances are that confidentiality will be in question, and the parties have moved from professionalism to gossip.

Where The Discussion Takes

Place• If the discussion occurs in a private place (such as a

teacher’s empty room, empty teachers’ lounge, counselor’s

office), there is no problem with confidentiality.

• If the discussion occurs in a public place (such as the

playground, the halls, a busy teachers’ lounge, the grocery

store, the hair salon), there is a good chance that

confidentiality could be violated.

Who Is Listening

• If the parties to the discussion are school

officials with legitimate educational interest,

there is no problem with confidentiality

• If others are listening who have no legitimate

educational interest (such as a teacher who is

eavesdropping, students on the playground or in

the hallway, substitutes, school volunteers, etc.),

confidentiality may be violated.

Why The Discussion Took Place

• If the parties have legitimate educational

interest in a student and are sharing

information that will help them work with

the child, there is no problem with

confidentiality.

• If the parties are gossiping to pass time,

carrying tales about a student or his/her

family, or for other non-educational

reasons, there is a problem with

confidentiality.

Cyber Security

• Columbia Falls School District – Montana

• Superintendent and school board members

received a 7 page extortion letter after

hackers stole PII from a district server.

• Parents received graphic messages

threatening their children with violence.

• Hackers target districts with weak data

security measures.

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There have been 320

K – 12

cyber security-related incidents

since January 2016.

WHAT IF ?????

Two teachers see each other in the grocery store, start

talking about a student at school (“I hear the father

walked out and left the mother. No wonder the student

has so many problems.”)

1. What are they discussing?

2. Where is the discussion taking place?

3. Who is listening?

4. Why are they discussing the student?

When asked if her confidential

files were secured, the teacher

replied, “Yes. I keep them in my

desk drawer, and when I leave

the room, I lock the door to my

room.”

Was she correct?

No. Her files are not secure because

anyone with a key has access. It is better

to have a file cabinet or desk with a lock.

The teacher keeps a folder in which she records notes

about her students. These notes have to do with the

student’s personality, behavior, achievement level,

likes and dislikes, attitudes and the like. As the

teacher is making notes in the folder after school, a

parent comes in and, noticing the folder, asks to see

notes relating to her child. The teacher refuses on the

grounds that her notes are not educational records

and, therefore, not accessible by the parent.

Is the teacher correct in her position?

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Yes, if she does not show or reveal the

contents of the notes to anyone, if she uses

them as a memory aid, and if they remain

her private notes in her sole possession.

However, if she shares the information

with anyone, the information becomes

an educational record.

The school district had given public notice of

the types of information that would be

considered directory information, and the

parents were duly notified of their rights of

refusal. Three months later, the school

published a directory containing the specified

information on its students. One parent

became very upset, saying the district had no

right to publish this information.

Was the parent correct

in his statement?

No. The district had followed FERPA

requirements regarding directory

information (given public notice, notified

parents of rights to refuse). Three

months could be considered more than

enough time to refuse.

A parent wanted to inspect her child’s

achievement test results. She was given

her child’s data report and the class data

summary to review. She was also shown

the district profile for comparison.

Were confidentiality

procedures violated?

Yes, if the class scoring summary

contained other children’s names. A

parent has the right to view only that

information that relates to his/her child.

If the district profile contained a graph or

something similar (with no names),

there would be no problem showing

the parent.

A school posts on the main office

bulletin board a list of all the

students in the resource

classroom.

Was confidentiality

violated?

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Yes. Any list that singles children

out violates confidentiality, if the list

contains any information other than

directory information.

A teacher has a habit of leaving students'

files out on her desk during the day. She

uses them in planning evaluations and

writing reports.

Is there a violation of

confidentiality?

There is no clear-cut answer. Leaving

confidential files on the desk could be a cause

for concern if the desk is in a high access area.

The teacher should be encouraged to close the

files or remove them from her desk when she

leaves. The same applies to copies of IEPs.

It is acceptable to keep them open on a

desk while teaching, but they should be put

away at the end of the teaching period.

The father of a student requests to see

the report card of his son who is a

student in the local elementary school.

The son is not in any special classes.

The parents are divorced, and the son

lives with his mother for the purposes of

a school address. The school refused to

disclose the boy’s grades to the father.

Was there a violation of parent

access to records?

Yes, unless the school has been

provided with evidence that there is

a court order, state statute or legally

binding document relating to such

matters as divorce, separation, or

custody that specifically revokes

these rights.

What if the parents

had never been married?

NSBA – July 11, 2018

NSBA shared its insight on how FERPA can impact

matters related to school safety as school boards work

to prevent acts of mass violence.

NSBA asked the Federal Commission on School Safety

to take action to modify FERPA to allow school board

members discretionary authority “to address significant

risks and threats to school safety before a mass violence

situation escalates”.

This change would provide needed authority to school

officials to share information which may indicate that a

student is a danger to himself or others.

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THINK ABOUT …Confidentiality is an important ethical

consideration in protecting your students.

1. Who has access to student information in your

district?

2. Have school personnel been trained in the basics

of FERPA? Should classified staff be trained

also?

3. Is your district’s FERPA policy up-to-date?

4. Does your district have a plan in place in case of

a data breach?

5. Does your district annually notify parents of their

FERPA rights?

REMEMBER !!!

WHEN IN DOUBT –

DON’T GIVE IT OUT!

CHECK IT OUT FIRST!

RESOURCES

United State Department of Education

FERPA

PPRA

NSBA and FERPA

Council of School Attorneys

THANKS TO:

Western Illinois University