Note: You are currently viewing documentation for Moodle 2.9. Up-to-date documentation for the latest stable version of Moodle may be available here: FERPA.

FERPA

From MoodleDocs

"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.

"FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students." 1

Moodle is used in many different contexts. This will affect how you may implement roles and access for your Moodle instance. Some institutions will have very strict requirements. Others may face challenges of multiple contexts for the same instance, such as some public spaces and some instructional spaces that require restricted access.

In general, directory information is considered public. Examples of common items that may be considered "directory" information include: the student's name, address, photograph, telephone number, e-mail address, date and place of birth, major field of study, academic load, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees, honors, and awards received, class year in school, and most previous educational agency or institution attended.

Directory information is defined by the institution and this definition is made public knowledge. For example, some institutions include e-mail addresses as directory information, and some do not. The student is allowed to OPT OUT by submitting a written request to the registrar's office (or other appropriate office, depending on the organization of the school). Students who file such a request should not have any of their information published in event programs (such as "meet the athletes" booklets distributed at sporting events) or directories. The student usually must renew this request every semester.


See also


Moodle is used in many different contexts. This will affect how you may implement roles and access for your Moodle instance. Some institutions will have very strict requirements. Others may face challenges of multiple contexts for the same instance, such as some public spaces and some instructional spaces that require restricted access.

In general, directory information is considered public. Examples of common items that may be considered "directory" information include: the student's name, address, photograph, telephone number, e-mail address, date and place of birth, major field of study, academic load, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees, honors, and awards received, class year in school, and most previous educational agency or institution attended.

Directory information is defined by the institution and this definition is made public knowledge. For example, some institutions include e-mail addresses as directory information, and some do not. The student is allowed to OPT OUT by submitting a written request to the registrar's office (or other appropriate office, depending on the organization of the school). Students who file such a request should not have any of their information published in event programs (such as "meet the athletes" booklets distributed at sporting events) or directories. The student usually must renew this request every semester.


See also