The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) dictates that educational institutions may not release information to unauthorized parties without the express permission of the student or, in the case of a minor, the parents of the student.

This act also requires that educational institutions must disclose any records kept on a student when demanded by that student.

The law has had a huge impact on privacy requirements of student records. It jeopardizes the federal funding of schools by government agencies if any violations occur.

NOTE: For more information on FERPA, visit www.ed.gov/policy /gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html.

To view a database of losses involving personally identifiable information, visit http://attrition.org/dataloss/.