Public Interest Privacy Center Seeks Updates Enhancing FERPA Protection
The Public Interest Privacy Center (PIPC) staff wants the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to protect all personal identifiable information (PII) accessible to school systems, regardless of how it is collected.
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In a blog post on PIPC's website Tuesday, staff argued that when FERPA was enacted in 1974, "it was designed to give parents and eligible students certain rights to PII in files ... that schools kept about students.”
However, as technology evolved, collection of student data changed, creating loopholes that shield certain student data from FERPA protection. This has made the specifics of FERPA coverage "increasingly challenging for school personnel." As such, it "not only undercuts the rights of parents and eligible students to access and challenge PII collected and retained at school, but it also weakens privacy protections for student data shared with technology companies.”
When PII "collected on an edtech platform is not protected under FERPA, the companies operating that platform may not be subject to any federal privacy law limiting their ability to freely use, share, or sell the student data they collect."
PPIC staff want FERPA’s scope expanded to promote privacy and combat confusion. For example, certain state laws have balanced legal and practical considerations with student privacy law coverage, the authors said. FERPA could follow that approach. The blog mentions Colorado and Maryland, where a broad swath of student information is protected, offering a clearer understanding of what is and is not protected.
“FERPA should be amended" to protect "all student PII that is readily accessible to the school, regardless of whether it is created by human personnel or automated systems,” the authors wrote. “This would ensure that PII gathered by automated systems -- such as PII compiled in student monitoring profiles–is clearly covered by FERPA and subject to parents and eligible students’ right to access this information.”