FERPA

1. FERPA Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Gina Percoco, MBA,RN Teaching Assistant NR 525 Chamberlain College of Nursing November 2015

2. Objectives • Define FERPA and key FERPA terms • Understand student rights under FERPA • Explain the educator’s role and responsibility for following the laws and policies which govern the acceptable use and release of student records • Apply FERPA guidelines to future practice as an educator

3. What is FERPA? • Also known as the Buckley Amendment • Federal law established in 1974 • Protects the privacy of student education records • Applies to all schools, K-12 and Higher Education, that receive Federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

4. FERPA Key Terms Eligible Student Education Record Personally Identifiable Information Directory Information Legitimate Educational Interest (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

5. Eligible Student Who is an Eligible Student? All students attending or who have previously attended institutions of postsecondary education Did you know that you have rights under FERPA?

6. Eligible Students Rights Under FERPA Students have the right to: • Inspect and review education records • Request an amendment of education records • Consent to the disclosure of education records • File a complaint with the U. S. Department of Education when rights are violated (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

7. Education Record What is an Education Record? • Demographic or Financial information • Class Lists • Admission Records • Grades • Graded Papers (U.S. Department of Education, 2012) Written, Printed and Electronic records

8. Education Record FERPA IS TECHNOLOGY NEUTRAL It’s All About The “Record” Not Where The Record Hangs Out (Anderson, 2015)

9. Education Record What is not an education record? • Medical Records • Employment Records • Alumni Records • Sole Possession Records (private notes) • School Law Enforcement Records • Peer Graded Papers/Exams (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

10. Personally Identifiable Information What is Personally Identifiable Information (PII)? A list of personal characteristics or other information which would make the student’s identity easily traceable. (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

11. Personally Identifiable Information • Student's name and/or address • Names & addresses of the student’s family members • Student's social security number or school ID number • Other indirect identifiers, such as the student’s date of birth, place of birth, and mother’s maiden name (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

12. Directory Information What is Directory Information? Personally identifiable information contained in an education record of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

13. Directory Information Directory Information can include: • Student’s Name Birthday • Address Major • E-mail Address Dates of Attendance • Awards/Honors Place of Birth • Activities/Sports Photo (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

14. NEVER Directory Information: • Social Security Number • Race • Gender • Religion • Grades or GPA (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

15. Legitimate Educational Interest What is Legitimate Educational Interest? The NEED to review a student’s record by a school official in order to fulfill their professional responsibilities Remember: Sharing information is on a need- to-know basis

16. What do you think?

17. Releasing Education Records Without Consent Schools to which a student is transferring Studies conducted for the school Accrediting or auditing organizations Related to students’ financial aide Judicial order or subpoena Health or safety emergencies (U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

18. Implications for Educators • No one is exempt from the rules of FERPA • Violations can result in severe penalties to the violator and/or institution • Enforced by the Family Policy Compliance Office in the U.S Department of Education

19. FERPA and SOCIAL MEDIA Social Media is not protected under FERPA Greater potential for FERPA violations It is not acceptable to require students to release personal information on a public site as part of an assignment (Peck, 2014)

20. Some things you can do…. • Obtain written consent from the student to release any information from the student’s record. • Use caution when saving student records on a laptop, shared computer, memory stick or in a file cabinet. • Never link the name of a student with their SSN or student ID, in any public manner such as when posting grades, or on an attendance roster.

21. Some things you can do…. • Do not share student information with your colleagues unless a legitimate educational interest exists. • Do not save any student information unless absolutely necessary. • Use the institution email address to communicate with students. • Never leave graded tests in a stack for students to pick up.

22. FERPA

23. The Authoritative Source Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave SW Washington, D. C. 20202 Telephone: (202) 260-3887 • Email: FERPA@ed.gov website: www.ed.gov/fpco

24. References Anderson, G. (2015). FERPA regulations for the online environment: A toolkit for faculty & staff [Powerpoint]. Retrieved from www.innovativeeducators.org Peck, J. L. (2014). Social media in nursing education: Responsible integration for meaningful use. Journal of Nursing Education, 53 (3), 164-169. doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20140219-03 U.S. Department of Education. (2012). Family educational rights and privacy act regulations. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/pdf/2012-final-regs.pdf