Audience Landing Page

This section houses all guidance documents, training materials, policy letters and other resources dedicated to protecting student privacy.  To narrow the list of documents below, use the drop down menus to select the type of resource, the topic and/or the audience and click the ‘apply’ button.  An updated list of resources will then be displayed below.

Best Practices

Data Breach Scenario Trainings

The Data Breach Scenario Trainings are a series of packaged trainings developed by the Privacy Technical Assistance Center, designed to help educational organizations at all levels conduct internal staff development on data breaches. Each scenario has been developed into a training package, providing ready-to-use resources for the scenario leader(s) and participants.

Guidance

Joint Guidance on the Application of FERPA and HIPAA to Student Health Records

The U.S. Department of Education and the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released updated joint guidance addressing the application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to records maintained on students. 

Guidance

Best Practices for Data Destruction

The Data Destruction Document is a best practices guide on properly destroying sensitive student data after it is no longer needed.  It details the life cycle of data and discusses various legal requirements relating to the destruction of data under FERPA, and examines a variety of methods for properly destroying data.  The guide also discusses best practices for data destruction and provides some real-world examples of how to implement it within your organization.

Guidance

School Resource Officers, School Law Enforcement Units, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

This guidance document consists of thirty-seven commonly asked questions about schools’ and school districts’ responsibilities under FERPA relating to disclosures of student information to school resource officers (SROs), law enforcement units and others, and seeks to explain and clarify how FERPA protects student privacy while ensuring the health and safety of students and others in the school community. SRO LEU LEO