Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
What is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC §1232g, 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.
Who Does FERPA affect?
FERPA applies to all U.S. educational agencies and institutions that receive funding under any program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
What does FERPA have to do with document destruction?
FERPA regulates access to and disclosure of student education records. It gives students and parents the right to inspect and review the students’ education records maintained at the institution, and request corrections if they believe the records are inaccurate or misleading.
Another important FERPA obligation is that the educational institution must obtain a signed and dated written consent from a parent or student before personally identifiable information is disclosed unless certain limited exceptions apply. The educational institution must keep a record of each disclosure of personally identifiable information from student records.
These obligations are set out in 34 CFR §99.30 through §99.39. Improper disposal of student records may constitute an unauthorized disclosure under FERPA.
What do Schools and colleges have to do to comply with FERPA?
To avoid inadvertent unauthorized disclosures, educational institutions should ensure that student records are disposed of securely.
If an educational institution does not comply with FERPA, 34 CFR §99.67(a) states that the government may:
- Withhold further payments under any applicable program;
- Issue a complaint to compel compliance through a cease-and-desist order; or
- Terminate eligibility to receive funding under any applicable program.
Proshred’s® role in compliance
Improper disposal of a student’s records may constitute an unauthorized disclosure under FERPA. Proshred®‘s secure shredding procedures assure educational institutions that student records are destroyed in a secure manner. Proshred® provides a Certificate of Destruction after every shred – an educational institution’s record of the secure destruction process. For more information visit: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
What Are People Saying About Proshred®
Today, Tuesday, 1/10/23, at 2:00 PM, I went to Pro Shred located in Elmsford to drop off two bags of papers. I was not aware that they did not accept cash or Apple Pay.
I am a first time customer, so I did not know the payment method. Met with Lamont, who explained they did not accept cash, however, he did look into the Apple Pay. This is when I met with Steven, who, like Lamont, spoke in a friendly and professional manner. Steven explained an alternative way, which I’d gladly accepted. Overall, the friendly and professional service I received from Steven in Lamont was exceptional. Thank you very much!
I was very pleased to know that they were NOT Dallas Cowboy fans!
Go Giants!
Jay Romano
When contract a job I am very specific about wanting to be charged what I am quoted. Usually I can't even get past the quoting when other companies start saying they will do it by box and then start talking about bin size on the phone. Pro Shed and Tara who quoted the job, did not play any games with me. They quoted a box price and then honored the box price. Not only was Tara grear, but when the guys showed up to do the shredding, they were professional, friendly, confident, and hard-working. Everything went as planned straight through the payment. I would refer anyone to this company at any time, because I feel comfortable that they did a good job for me and would do a good job forgrade,
I needed a little more shredding done, a very small job, just a little residual from the big job at a later date, and they are handling that great as well. I spoke to the manager today about them coming out on Monday for the residual and told him how pleased I was with the service. Unfortunately I can't remember his name but he was so professional as well and I'm so glad that I deal with this company. Don't use anyone else use a class act. ProShred gets 5 starts in all categories.
I have limited need for shredding services--every year or two, I need to shred some old credit card slips and bank statements and such. It is always very easy to load 8-10 boxes of stuff in the back of my station wagon, drive it over to ProShred and then unload it into a bin, pay the fee and I'm on my way. Easy peasy. The staff is aways friendly and cheerful; they will do my shredding for the foreseeable future.