Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA)

Parents often ask questions like “What information are you collecting about my child?” “Why do you need that information, and what do you use it for?” or “How do you safeguard my child’s information?” These are legitimate questions that parents want schools and districts to answer.  This document provides a number of recommendations for keeping parents and students better informed about schools’ and districts’ collection and use of student data.

Letter to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about a request for access to a certain document maintained at the University.

The various exceptions to FERPA can be confusing and difficult to track.  The FERPA Exceptions Summary is intended to be a handy visual aid to help identify, at a glance, what FERPA exception applies to the data sharing work you are trying to do.

This document addresses privacy and security considerations relating to computer software, mobile applications (apps), and web-based tools provided by a third-party to a school or district that students and/or their parents access via the Internet and use as part of a school activity. Examples include online services that students use to access class readings, to view their learning progression, to watch video demonstrations, to comment on class activities, or to complete their homework.