Legal References

Guidance and Best Practices
Letters

Joint FERPA Letter with ED HHS regarding Uninterrupted Scholars Act

This letter written to Chief State School Officers and State Child Welfare Directors between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education describes the Uninterrupted Scholars Act and its impact on data sharing between education and health and human service agencies.

Guidance and Best Practices

Model Notice for Directory Information

This document is a template notice for notifying parents and eligible students (students over 18 years of age or attending a school beyond the high school level) about the type of information from student’s education records, designated by a School District as “directory information,” that schools may disclose without consent, unless advised to the contrary.  This document also can be viewed in Spanish here.

Guidance and Best Practices

FERPA General Guidance for Students (En Español)

This compliation of letters and guidance documents provides eligible students with general information about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This document is a compilation and update of various letters and guidance documents previously issued that respond to a variety of questions about FERPA.  This is the spanish translation.  

Guidance and Best Practices

Technical Brief #1: Basic Concepts and Definitions for Privacy and Confidentiality in Student Education Records

This Technical Brief discusses basic concepts and definitions that establish a common set of terms related to the protection of personally identifiable information, especially in education records in the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS). This Brief also outlines a privacy framework that is tied to Fair Information Practice Principles that have been promulgated in both the United States and international privacy work.