Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA)

This section houses all guidance documents, training materials, policy letters and other resources directly related to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.  The FERPA regulations can be found here.

Guidance

FERPA General Guidance for Parents (En Español)

This compliation of letters and guidance documents provides parents 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 version is the Spanish translation.

Letters

Rescinded: August 2020 - Cover letter to the Department’s annual notices to SEAs and LEAs

Rescinded: August 2020

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.

Guidance
Videos

School Volunteers and FERPA

Volunteers are important in helping schools operate efficiently, but it’s important to know your role in protecting student information while helping out in your school. This video explains some of a school volunteer’s responsibilities to help keep the student information they work with private and secure. The Privacy Technical Assistance Center has also released a corresponding brochure that schools can use to help train their volunteers with their legal responsibilities to protect student data. This brochure can be found here.

Guidance

Understanding the Confidentiality Requirements Applicable to IDEA Early Childhood Programs FAQ

The purpose of this document is to assist early childhood programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—Part B section 611 (Grants to States), Part B section 619 (Preschool Grants), and Part C (Grants for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities)—with addressing privacy and confidentiality questions.

Guidance
Videos

Email and Student Privacy

Email is an easy way to communicate with students and parents. Prior to sending an email, it’s important to evaluate the risk associated with sending student information and recognizing if it is personally identifiable information (PII). This video walks you through best practices on how to email student information.

Guidance

Response to Technical Assistance Request from Suffolk University

The U.S Department of Education has issued this guidance letter in response to a technical assistance request from Suffolk University.  In their request, representatives from the University sought guidance on the use of the Department’s National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) for research and evaluation purposes, to study student loan servicing and borrower default and delinquency of Suffolk’s students and graduates.