As a teacher candidate in an educator preparation program, you may have access to information and records pertaining to students that require your understanding of FERPA. FERPA laws and ethics are at the forefront of educational decisions made regarding student learning and assessment. FERPA laws apply to all educational institutions and agencies that receive funding through the U.S. Department of Education.
Preparation
Review the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Resources located in the Wk 1 Learning Activities folder.
Analysis Deliverable
To complete this short-answer analysis, read the scenario for each question and type your response to the prompts that follow. Your response to each scenario should be a minimum of 100 words and address each prompt related to the scenario
Question 1
Ms. Thomas stood in the hallway during the class transition from second to third period with her grade-level team. She was frustrated and began to discuss the names of students who she had to give a behavior referral to because they got into a fight inside her classroom during first period.
In your own words, how would you explain what FERPA states regarding confidentiality of student information and describe how it applies to this scenario?
What are the consequences of this scenario if another parent/caregiver visiting the campus walks by, overhears the conversation, and reports the teacher?
What could Ms. Thomas have done differently to avoid a FERPA violation?
Question 2
Two weeks before school starts, Ms. Gonzalez, a fourth-grade teacher, creates a classroom booklet welcoming students and parents/caregivers for back-to-school night. The booklet includes class rules and procedures, as well as listing the names and addresses of students, parents/caregivers, and community partners. Ms. Gonzalez’s goal is to build comradery and community among students and parents/caregivers within the class; students are excited to see their friends and most parents/caregivers appreciate knowing about available resources close to their homes. Yasmine’s mother was not happy about this booklet and informed the principal.
In your own words, what does FERPA state regarding disclosing directory information? Describe how it applies to this scenario.
What could Ms. Gonzalez have done differently to be FERPA-compliant when creating the classroom booklet, while still building comradery and a sense of community with her students and their parents/caregivers?
Question 3
At the beginning of the school year, the school counselor is required to send teachers the IEPs for special education students who are in their classroom. Mr. Chen, the school counselor, sent an email to all teachers and staff instructing them to look through all of the IEPs, but to only review and electronically sign off on the IEPs of students who are in their classrooms. Mr. Chen stated that signing off would indicate that the teachers read and understood the accommodations for each special education student in their classroom.
How would you explain how FERPA was violated in this scenario and what the consequences could be for this type of violation?
What could Mr. Chen have done differently to avoid this type of FERPA violation and to better serve the special education students who have IEPs?
Question 4
The second-grade team agreed to use data grids for tracking student data. The first and last names of each student and their assessment data from each unit test would be listed on index cards. Cards would be posted on a data wall under each teacher to help second grade teachers organize and track the individual student and classroom progress. Teachers would also be able to determine whether students in their class were mastering skills that were taught, as well as help make plans for grouping and reteaching content.
How could the teachers create the data wall, using index cards to display individual student’s data, without violating FERPA laws?
Who, if anyone, would be able to view the assessment data posted on the data wall?
Question 5
Mrs. Smith is holding parent/caregiver-teacher conferences after the second nine weeks of school to discuss each student’s district benchmark data. The teacher will discuss the students’ strengths and weaknesses and establish next steps in preparation for state testing in the spring.
On the day of conferences, she gathers all parents/caregivers in her classroom, welcomes them, and gives each parent/caregiver a colored tag. Red tags are for students who scored below level, yellow tags are for student who scored at approaching grade level, and green tags are for students who scored on or above grade level. Max’s mom, Mrs. Boyle, is upset about having a red tag. She leaves the room and goes to the principal’s office to complain.
What do you believe the complaint to the principal by Mrs. Boyle would be? How was FERPA violated or not violated in this scenario?
What could Mrs. Smith have done differently to group the parents/caregivers, or should this be done at all? What might be an alternative?
Here are the resources that have been provided by the instructor
