A United States senator is questioning FERPA guidelines that he said could put student privacy at risk. Today Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) said he'll introduce legislation in the coming weeks to protect students' sensitive information from commercial exploitation and from potential mishandling.At issue are changes to the U.S. Department of Education's guidelines to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) issued in 2008 and 2011. Late last year, Markey requested clarification from ED on these changes, which in particular address the handling of student data by private contractors. ED responded in a letter (available as a PDF on senate.gov) this week justifying the changes and insisting that, while the protection of student data is paramount, there are legitimate cases in which schools must disclose student data without parental consent. (That letter is available as a PDF on senate.gov).

A United States senator is questioning FERPA guidelines that he said could put student privacy at risk. Today Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) said he'll introduce legislation in the coming weeks to protect students' sensitive information from commercial exploitation and from potential mishandling.At issue are changes to the U.S. Department of Education's guidelines to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) issued in 2008 and 2011. Late last year, Markey requested clarification from ED on these changes, which in particular address the handling of student data by private contractors. ED responded in a letter (available as a PDF on senate.gov) this week justifying the changes and insisting that, while the protection of student data is paramount, there are legitimate cases in which schools must disclose student data without parental consent. (That letter is available as a PDF on senate.gov).