Unauthorized Disclosure

Unauthorized disclosure occurs when personally identifiable information from a student’s education record is made available to a third party who does not have legal authority to access the information. Such an unauthorized disclosure can happen inadvertently, as occurs when information about an individual is unintentionally revealed through, for example, a security breach of the electronic system that is used to maintain and access the education records, or when a teacher or administrator accidentally leaves paper reports that include personally identifiable information in an unsecured location. See also Authorized Disclosure, Disclosure, and Identity Disclosure.

For more information, see the SLDS Technical Brief: Basic Concepts and Definitions for Privacy and Confidentiality in Student Education Records.