FERPA primarily protects the privacy of which records?

• A. Medical records
• B. FERPA
• C. Personal records
• D. Educational records

Answer: (D)

FERPA protects the privacy of education records. Education records are any records directly related to a student and maintained by a school or someone acting for the school, such as grades, transcripts, class schedules, disciplinary files, or counseling notes kept by the school. This rule means that information the school holds about a student cannot be shared without consent, with some listed exceptions. Medical records, while they may exist in a school setting, are typically governed by HIPAA rather than FERPA, and personal records that aren’t kept by the school aren’t covered as education records. So the key point is that FERPA safeguards records that are education-related and maintained by the educational institution.