Resources

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.

Letters

Cover letter to the Department’s annual notices to SEAs and LEAs

The Department of Education (Department) is required to notify annually each State educational agency (SEA) and each local educational agency (LEA) of its obligations, as a recipient of Department funds, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).  This is the cover letter to the Department’s annual notices to SEAs and LEAs.

Letters

Letter to Postsecondary Institutions about the American Community Survey (ACS)

Letter to institutions of postsecondary education regarding the applicability of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to the disclosure of certain personally identifiable information from student education records to representatives of the U. S. Census Bureau (Bureau) who are conducting Group Quarters (GQ) or group housing data collection for the American Community Survey (ACS). Unlike the decennial census, the ACS is an on-going monthly survey of a sample of housing units and GQs, but the guidance is consistent with census collections.