Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)
Discover, protect and securely erase student records – meeting FERPA's safeguards against unauthorized access and disclosure.
Safeguard Student Data with Proven Solutions for FERPA Compliance
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a U.S. federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Enacted in 1974, FERPA gives parents certain rights regarding their children’s education records, and these rights transfer to students once they turn 18 or attend a school beyond the high school level.
For educational institutions and service providers, FERPA compliance means implementing safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure or misuse of student records.
That’s why trusted institutions such as Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon University and Fannindel ISD rely on Jetico’s data wiping and encryption solutions to protect student data and comply with FERPA.
FERPA Encryption
- To comply with FERPA, schools should use encryption to protect education records and prevent unauthorized access to PII.
- Regulatory and guidance references for encryption:
34 CFR § 99.33(a): Recipients of education records may not redisclose PII without authorization; encryption supports secure sharing with service providers and partners.
U.S. Department of Education (ED) guidance: Recommends strong encryption for data at rest and in transit as a best practice for safeguarding electronic education records. - To help institutions comply with FERPA, Jetico provides BestCrypt Container Encryption to safeguard files and folders, and BestCrypt Volume Encryption to protect entire hard drives.
FERPA Access Control
- FERPA requires schools to control who can reach student records, not just how they’re stored. 34 CFR § 99.31(a)(1)(ii) requires institutions to use reasonable methods to ensure school officials access only the education records in which they have a legitimate educational interest.
- Controlling which users, applications and processes can reach student data reduces the risk of unauthorized access and supports this least-privilege expectation.
- To support FERPA compliance, Jetico provides BestCrypt Data Shelter for policy-based access control across endpoints.
FERPA Data Wiping
- FERPA’s core duty is preventing unauthorized access to and disclosure of education records, and that duty carries through to disposal. When records or devices are retired, simple deletion can leave student data recoverable, creating a disclosure risk.
- Where FERPA and ED guidance address secure destruction:
34 CFR § 99.35(b)(2): PII disclosed to authorized representatives for the audit or evaluation of education programs must be destroyed when no longer needed for that purpose.
34 CFR § 99.31(a)(6): organizations conducting studies on a school’s behalf must destroy PII when it is no longer needed.
U.S. Department of Education (PTAC) guidance: recommends secure media sanitization so student data cannot be reconstructed. - To support FERPA compliance, Jetico provides BCWipe for secure file and folder deletion, and BCWipe Total WipeOut for complete hard drive erasure.
Discover & Classify Student Data Before You Protect Or Securely Erase It
With Jetico, You Can
Jetico helps schools discover where student data resides, protect it while it’s needed and securely erase it when records are no longer required for audit or compliance purposes – supporting every stage of the data lifecycle FERPA expects you to control.
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About FERPA Compliance
FERPA outlines clear responsibilities for protecting student education records, applying to a wide range of organizations, including:
- Schools: Public and private schools at the elementary and secondary levels
- Colleges & Universities: Institutions of higher education
- Agencies & Institutions: Any educational agency or institution receiving funds under programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education
- Service Providers: Third parties handling education records on behalf of schools (e.g., cloud providers, IT vendors)
Non-compliance with FERPA can lead to investigations, loss of federal funding and reputational damage. Beyond the legal consequences, protecting student data is a fundamental responsibility of every educational institution and its partners.
By adopting strong encryption and wiping practices, schools and service providers can:
- Safeguard student records from unauthorized access
- Reduce risks of breaches or accidental disclosure
- Demonstrate accountability and compliance with federal privacy standards
Contact us today to see how Jetico can help your institution stay FERPA compliant and protect education records without delay.
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