The FERPA statute and regulations (20 U.S.C. If, however, the parent’s photo shows two students fighting at the game, and the parent provides a copy of the photo to the school, which then maintains the photo in the students’ disciplinary records, then the copy of the photo being maintained by the school is an education record.Įxclusion for Law Enforcement Unit Records Thus, a photo taken by a parent at a school football game would not be considered an education record, even if it is directly related to a particular student, because it is not being maintained by the school or on the school’s behalf. To be considered an education record under FERPA, an educational agency or institution, or a party acting for the agency or institution, also must maintain the record. Maintained by an educational agency or institution: A video recording of a faculty meeting during which a specific student’s grades are being discussed is directly related to that student because the discussion contains PII from the student’s education record.Schools often designate photos or videos of students participating in public events (e.g., sporting events, concerts, theater performances, etc.) as directory information and/or obtain consent from the parents or eligible students to publicly disclose photos or videos from these events. If a school maintains a close-up photo of two or three students playing basketball with a general view of student spectators in the background, the photo is directly related to the basketball players because they are the focus of the photo, but it is not directly related to the students pictured in the background.A classroom video that shows a student having a seizure is directly related to that student because the depicted health emergency becomes the focus of the video.A school surveillance video showing two students fighting in a hallway, used as part of a disciplinary action, is directly related to the students fighting.The audio or visual content of the photo or video otherwise contains personally identifiable information contained in a student’s education record.Ī photo or video should not be considered directly related to a student in the absence of these factors and if the student’s image is incidental or captured only as part of the background, or if a student is shown participating in school activities that are open to the public and without a specific focus on any individual.Įxamples of situations that may cause a video to be an education record:.The person or entity taking the photo or video intends to make a specific student the focus of the photo or video (e.g., ID photos, or a recording of a student presentation) or.that shows a student getting injured, attacked, victimized, ill, or having a health emergency.that shows a student in violation of local, state, or federal law.that resulted in an educational agency or institution’s use of the photo or video for disciplinary action (or other official purposes) involving a student (or, if disciplinary action is pending or has not yet been taken, that would reasonably result in use of the photo or video for disciplinary action involving a student).The photo or video contains a depiction of an activity:.The educational agency or institution uses the photo or video for disciplinary action (or other official purposes) involving the student (including the victim of any such disciplinary incident).Among the factors that may help determine if a photo or video should be considered “directly related” to a student are the following: In the context of photos and videos, determining if a visual representation of a student is directly related to a student (rather than just incidentally related to him or her) is often context-specific, and educational agencies and institutions should examine certain types of photos and videos on a case by case basis to determine if they directly relate to any of the students depicted therein. 1232g(a)(4)(A) 34 CFR § 99.3 “Education Record”) įERPA regulations do not define what it means for a record to be “directly related” to a student. When is a photo or video of a student an education record under FERPA?Īs with any other “education record,” a photo or video of a student is an education record, subject to specific exclusions, when the photo or video is: (1) directly related to a student and (2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.

Children photo privacy