FERPA Regulations Now Permit Electronic Consent to Disclose Information; NASFAA Training Materials Updated

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) final regulations in the April 21, 2004 Federal Register permit electronic consent to disclose personally identifiable information from a student's education records. The regulations are effective May 21, 2004.

Paragraph (d) has been added to Sec. 99.30 of the FERPA regulations as follows:

(a) The parent or eligible student shall provide a signed and dated written consent before an educational agency or institution discloses personally identifiable information from the student's education records, except as provided in Sec. 99.31.

(b) The written consent must:

(1) Specify the records that may be disclosed;
(2) State the purpose of the disclosure; and
(3) Identify the party or class of parties to whom the disclosure may be made.

(c) When a disclosure is made under paragraph (a) of this section:

(1) If a parent or eligible student so requests, the educational agency or institution shall provide him or her with a copy of the records disclosed; and
(2) If the parent of a student who is not an eligible student so requests, the agency or institution shall provide the student with a copy of the records disclosed.

(d) "Signed and dated written consent" under this part may include a record and signature in electronic form that—

(1) Identifies and authenticates a particular person as the source of the electronic consent; and
(2) Indicates such person's approval of the information contained in the electronic consent.

As stated in the Federal Register, the regulations are intended to be technology-neutral. The Department of Education does not want to limit the flexibility of schools in this area of rapid technological change. While schools are not limited to any particular technology or method, ED considers the Standards for Electronic Signatures in Electronic Student Loan Transactions, particularly sections 3 through 7, to satisfy the written consent requirement in FERPA.

ED plans to issue additional guidance that will include further examples of an acceptable process.

Updates to NASFAA Materials

On the updated page 9, under the heading "Right to Consent to or Withhold Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information – 99.30 and 99.37", a new section has been added that explains the conditions under which electronic consent is permitted.

Information about purchasing the updated FERPA training materials can be found at http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2002/ctspring02materials052302.html.

By Karen McCarthy
NASFAA Assistant Director for Training and Technical Assistance

Posted May 7, 2004 on www.NASFAA.org, Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Copyright 2004. Redistribution to nonmember institutions is prohibited
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