Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) | U.S. Department of Education

PTAC and the Office of the Chief Privacy Officer are excited to announce the launch of the new Student Privacy Website! This new website replaces both the legacy PTAC and the Family Policy Compliance Office’s (FPCO) sites. The Student Privacy Website can be found at: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov. Be sure to update your bookmarks accordingly!

Student Privacy 101: FERPA for Parents and Students

Ever have questions about your rights regarding education records? This short video highlights the key points of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

RECENTLY RELEASED DOCUMENTS

02/21/2017 - W 2 Phishing Scam Now Targeting Schools
01/18/2017 - Integrated Data Systems and Student Privacy
01/12/2017 - Guidance on the Use of Financial Aid Information for
Program Evaluation and Research
10/31/2016 - Response to Assistance Request from University of North Carolina
10/27/2016 - School Volunteer Brochure

MOST REQUESTED DOCUMENTS

1) Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online
Educational Services – Model Terms of Service
2) Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online
Educational Services
3) Transparency Best Practices
4) Best Practices for Data Destruction
5) Data Breach Response Training Kit

The Purpose of PTAC

The U.S. Department of Education established the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) as a “one-stop” resource for education stakeholders to learn about data privacy, confidentiality, and security practices related to student-level longitudinal data systems and other uses of student data. PTAC provides timely information and updated guidance on privacy, confidentiality, and security practices through a variety of resources, including training materials and opportunities to receive direct assistance with privacy, security, and confidentiality of student data systems. MORE

Training Videos

PTAC has deployed the following videos to help inform the education community about the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Each of these videos is approximately 30 minutes long, and is intended as basic training for education officials, teachers, and staff at state and local education agencies and institutions.

This video provides an overview of FERPA in the context of K-12 education.

This video training provides an overview of FERPA in the context of postsecondary education.

This video training is designed to help staff and officials at educational agencies and institutions understand their responsibilities around sharing PII and other sensitive information from education records.