Council of Chief State School Officers Webinar

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Council of Chief State School Officers Webinar
Final Amendments to FERPA Regulations

• January 7, 2009
• Steven Y. Winnick
• EducationCounsel LLC
• steve.winnick_at_educationcounsel.com
• 202-545-2913

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FERPAFINAL REGULATION AMENDMENTS

• The U.S. Department of Education (USED) published
  final regulation amendments under the Family
  Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) on
  December 9, 2008. These regulations are based on
  proposed regulations published March 24, 2008,
  and USED's analysis of public comments submitted
  in response to the proposed regulations.
• Many states and other organizations associated
  with the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) have viewed
  these regulations as an opportunity to address
  the chilling effect that FERPA has had on the
  willingness of states to develop robust state
  longitudinal data systems (SLDSs) as a necessary
  foundation for standards-based reform.
• FERPA's chilling effect has been caused by narrow
  USED interpretations or a lack of USED guidance,
  in particular on (1) the authority to share
  data between separate P(or K)-12 postsecondary
  data systems (2) the authority for SLDSs to
  redisclose education records at all (3) the
  authority of SLDSs to disclose education records
  for research studies and (4) the authority to
  share education records with workforce and social
  service agencies.
• The final regulations make some changes that may
  be helpful on a number of these issues, but
  decline to take additional steps that would fully
  resolve them. The following analysis focuses
  primarily on issues that implicate SLDSs.

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Issue 1 Authority of SLDS to Redisclose
Education Records Sharing Data Between P (or
K)-12 and Postsecondary Data Systems
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Issue 2 Authority of SLDSs to Make Recordations
for Redisclosures
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Issue 3 Authority of SLDS to Authorize Research
Studies and Disclose Data to Research
Organizations
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Issue 4 Authority to Disclose Data to a
Students Former School
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Issue 5 Authority to Disclose Data to
Non-Education Agencies, Including Employment
Agencies and Social Service Agencies that Serve
At-Risk Students
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Issue 6 When is FERPA Not An Issue Because Data
Are Not Personally Identifiable?
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Issue 7 Outsourcing of Data Functions
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Issue 8 Disclosures to State Auditors Who Are
Not Education Officials
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Issue 9 Disclosures to Parents of Students Who
Are Postsecondary Students Or Who Turn 18 Years
Old
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Issue 10 Disclosures to Protect the Student Or
Others In Health Or Safety Emergencies
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Issue 11 Appropriate Controls to Ensure Proper
Access to Education Records
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Some Steps for States To Considerin Light of
Regulations

• Review and, as appropriate, adopt state laws
• To clarify authority of SLDSs to redisclose
  education records for authorized FERPA purposes.
• To authorize P-12 and postsecondary data systems
  (if separate) to share with each other education
  records that the receiving system needs for
  evaluation purposes.
• To authorize SLDSs to enter agreements with (and
  disclose education records to) research
  organizations for studies to improve instruction
  for the benefit of schools and LEAs in the state.
• To authorize education records to be disclosed to
  a student's former school and LEA for evaluation
  and accountability purposes.
• Develop procedures for recording redisclosures
  and transmitting them upon request to schools or
  LEAs.
• Consider having state education employees or
  contractors match education records with
  workforce or social service records.

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Contact Information

• Steve Winnick, at EducationCounsel
• 202-545-2913
• steve.winnick_at_educationcounsel.com