What is FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)?
FERPA is a US federal law that protects the privacy of student education records, giving parents and eligible students the right to access and control the disclosure of their educational information.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a US federal law enacted in 1974 that protects the privacy of student education records. It applies to all educational institutions that receive funding from the US Department of Education, which includes virtually all public schools and most private institutions of higher education. FERPA grants parents rights regarding their children's education records, and these rights transfer to the student upon reaching age 18 or attending a postsecondary institution.
FERPA gives parents and eligible students the right to inspect and review education records, request corrections to records they believe are inaccurate or misleading, and have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records. Schools generally must have written permission from the parent or eligible student before releasing any information from a student's record, though FERPA allows disclosure without consent in certain circumstances such as to school officials with legitimate educational interests, to other schools where the student is transferring, or in connection with financial aid.
Violations of FERPA can result in the withdrawal of federal funding from the institution. The Family Policy Compliance Office within the US Department of Education handles complaints and enforcement. Educational institutions can use IQWorks to protect student records by leveraging DiscoverIQ to identify education records across systems and ProtectIQ to enforce access controls consistent with FERPA requirements.
How IQWorks Helps
Related Terms
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
PII is any information that can be used to identify a specific individual, including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and biometric data.
Access Control
Access control restricts who can view, modify, or delete data based on identity, role, and authorization policies, ensuring only authorized personnel access personal data.
Privacy by Default
Privacy by Default means that the strictest privacy settings automatically apply when a customer acquires a new product or service, without requiring any manual input or configuration by the individual.
Privacy Program
A privacy program is a comprehensive organizational framework encompassing the policies, procedures, people, and technologies that manage an organization's data protection obligations and privacy risks.
Data Governance
Data governance is the overall management of data availability, usability, integrity, and security within an organization, establishing policies, procedures, and accountability for data management.