Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Context

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

Legislation

View the full text of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Regulations & Guidance

View the Code of Federal Regulations: Title 34, Part 99 – Family Educational Rights and Privacy.
Download Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Disclosure of Student Information Related to Emergencies and Disasters.
Download Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services.

Resources

Forum Guide to the Privacy of Student Information: A Resource for Schools

This guide from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was written to help school and local education agency staff to better understand and apply FERPA, a federal law that protects privacy interests of parents and students in student education records.
Visit the webpage.

Privacy and Data Sharing

This webpage from the U.S. Department of Education’s Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) focuses on the topic of data sharing under FERPA, including exploring best practices and legal requirements for protecting student privacy while sharing data between educational agencies, partner organizations, and other third parties.
Visit the Privacy and Data Sharing webpage.