The foundational federal law on student privacy, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), establishes student privacy rights by restricting with whom and under what circumstances schools may share students’ personally identifiable information. This tool summarizes some of the main provisions of FERPA and related regulations and identifies when students’ personally identifiable information may be securely shared under the law. For a deeper analysis of FERPA, see Complying with FERPA and Other Federal Privacy and Security Laws and Maximizing Appropriate Data Use.
