Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)
Securing Education Records with Wiping & Encryption for FERPA Compliance
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 Data Wiping
- FERPA mandates that education records must be securely destroyed when no longer needed; simple deletion is insufficient, as residual data may remain recoverable.
- Regulatory requirements under FERPA include:
34 CFR § 99.10(e): Institutions must comply with verifiable requests to provide or delete student records.
34 CFR § 99.35(a)(2): Records that are no longer needed for audit, evaluation or compliance purposes must be destroyed.
U.S. Department of Education (ED) guidance: Advises educational institutions to use secure electronic deletion methods so that 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.
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 § 99.31(a)(1): Schools must ensure that PII from education records is disclosed only under authorized conditions; encryption helps enforce this safeguard.
34 CFR § 99.33(a): Any recipient of education records must protect against unauthorized redisclosure; encryption supports secure sharing with service providers or 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.
With Jetico, You Can
To help your organization with FERPA, we offer data wiping and encryption solutions:
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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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