Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, federal officials conducted a "listening tour" about school safety and emergency preparedness in communities across the country from which several themes emerged, including the need for additional guidance on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

In response, the U.S. Department of Education has released three new guides--for parents, K-12 educators and higher education officials--on the federal law that protects the privacy of students' education records. Generally, FERPA requires schools to ask for written permission before disclosing a student's personally identifiable information to individuals other than the parent. The guides provide information so that, empowered by an understanding of the law, parents will be able to protect their children's privacy and school officials will know how to act decisively and quickly to maintain school safety when threats arise. Among the issues addressed are

* Exceptions to the rule, including disclosures that involve information designated as "directory information";

* The disclosure of images of students captured on security videotapes; and

* The type of disciplinary records that may be disclosed without a student's consent.

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For a free copy of these guides, visit http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco /ferpa/safeschools; or call 1-877-4ED-PUBS with the following identification numbers for the guides while supplies last: parents (ED003907H), school officials (ED003906H) and postsecondary officials (ED003905H).