US Education: Legal Regulations, Compliance, and Investigation Acts

This report provides an overview of the legal regulations, compliance, and investigation related to student data privacy in US education. It focuses on key acts such as FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act), COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), and CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act). The report details the requirements of each act, including the protection of student educational records, parental consent for data collection from children under 13, and the use of technology to block harmful content. It also emphasizes the need for monitoring and auditing policies to ensure compliance, including data encryption, staff training on cybersecurity threats, and vulnerability assessments. The report concludes by highlighting the importance of adopting appropriate safety measures and security frameworks to safeguard student data against potential risks, ensuring the educational institutions follow the guidelines.

Running head: Legal Regulations, Compliance, and Investigation
Legal Regulations, Compliance, and Investigation

Legal Regulations, Compliance, and Investigation 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................2
Discussion.................................................................................................................................................2
Compliance related to the acts...........................................................................................................2
Need and Structure of the Monitoring and Auditing Policy to Ensure Compliance......................3
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................4
References................................................................................................................................................5

Legal Regulations, Compliance, and Investigation 2
Introduction
There are certain acts framed by the US government to prevent the minors from
accessing unwanted online content and to safeguard their personal information from
being accessed by unauthorized sources. Acts framed in this regard by US jurisdiction
are FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act), COPPA (Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act) and CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act). The description of
the compliance of the above mentioned acts and the monitoring regarding their
implementation to be applied in the context of educational institutions is stated in this
report (Privacy Technical Assistance Center, 2014).
Discussion
Compliance related to the acts
FEPRA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) safeguards the personal
information of the students. The Federal Agency under the US Department of Education
protects their educational records from the unauthorized access. It mandates the
educational institutions to get written confirmation from the parents to obtain the
educational information from the student’s record.
Apart from this, the educational institutions are required to provide the parents or
students above the age of 18 with the following rights:
1. To review the educational records of the students, within 45 days of application.
2. To modify the inaccurate records.
3. Approval to reveal the personal data from the educational records. The approval
can be signed online (Barack, 2017).

Legal Regulations, Compliance, and Investigation 3
COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act) monitors the accumulation,
utilization and revealing of the personal data collected from the children below the age
of 13. It is administered by Federal agency under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The operators have to inform the parents of the purpose and the type of data of the
children to be utilized by them. Also, the means by which the parents can provide or
revoke their permission to access the information. All the operators are required to
display a privacy policy which is easy to comprehend on their websites.
CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) administers the access to internet by the
children below the age of 17. It is monitored by Federal Agency under the Federal
Communication Commission. It mandates to use a ‘technology protection measure ‘to
block the access to visual material which is harmful for minors (Kozak, 2015).
Need and Structure of the Monitoring and Auditing Policy to Ensure Compliance
The U.S. Department of Education has formulated the Privacy Technical Assistance
Centre (PTAC) for educating the stakeholders regarding the data privacy, confidentiality
and security practices related to the student data.
It must safeguard and encrypt the direct communication and prevent unauthorized
access to the personal information of the minors through a proxy or password safe
technology. All the team members should be trained regularly regarding the latest cyber
security threats (Tilma, 2017).

Legal Regulations, Compliance, and Investigation 4
Conclusion
Hence, to conclude, the educational institutions should adopt appropriate safety
measures in compliance with FEPRA, COPPA and CIPA. They should adopt the
security frameworks and set up the process for recognizing the possible threats and
safeguarding the information.
The schools should put restrictions on the on the personal data of the students and
encrypt it. They should perform vulnerability assessments and pen tests to identify
potential threats. By adopting these measures the identifiable data of the students can
be safeguarded against potential risks (CEPAL, 2015).

Legal Regulations, Compliance, and Investigation 5
References
Kozak, D. (2015). Overview of CIPA, COPPA, and FERPA. Retrieved from
https://www.spps.org/cms/lib/MN01910242/Centricity/Domain/11270/Overviewof
CIPACOPPAandFERPA12.2015.pdf on 10th February, 2018.
Privacy Technical Assistance Center (2014). Protecting Student Privacy While Using
Online Educational Services: Requirements and Best Practices. Retrieved from
https://tech.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Student-Privacy-and-Online-
Educational-Services-February-2014.pdf on 10th February, 2018.
CEPAL (2015). Legal Implications of Using Digital Technology in Public Schools: Effects
on Privacy. Retrieved from
https://www.sandiego.edu/soles/documents/cepal/CEPAL%20Legal
%20Implications%20FINAL%20070715.pdf on 10th February, 2018.
Tilma, J. (2017). Technology Policies. Retrieved from
http://www.msbo.org/sites/default/files/techpol_2017.pdf on 10th February, 2018.
Barack, L. (2017). The Problem with Student Privacy, and How to Protect it. Retrieved
from http://www.slj.com/2017/01/technology/the-problem-with-student-privacy-
and-how-to-protect-it/#_ on 10th February, 2018.

Legal Regulations, Compliance, and Investigation 6