Privacy in education


Privacy in education refers to the broad area of ideologies, practices, and legislation that involve the privacy rights of individuals in the education system. Concepts that are commonly associated with privacy in education include the expectation of privacy, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the Fourth Amendment, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Most privacy in education concerns relate to the protection of student data and the privacy of medical records. Many scholars are engaging in an academic discussion that covers the scope of students’ privacy rights, from student in K-12 and even higher education, and the management of student data in an age of rapid access and dissemination of information.

Expectation of privacy

"Expectation of privacy," similar to the "right to privacy," is a phrase that describes the natural desire of humans to maintain their sense of privacy. There is currently no legal definition in the American law that explicitly grants humans the right to privacy. Oftentimes, the Fourth Amendment is utilized by people in court cases to defend themselves from actions that involve certain infringements upon their privacy, such as searches that require warrants. However, over the years, the U.S. Supreme Court has found it difficult to determine an impartial non-biased meaning for "expectation of privacy" because there are too many subjective variables to consider.

Student expectation of privacy

In line with the general meaning of "expectation of privacy," student expectation of privacy refers to a student's inherent right to privacy in the school system. Examples of student expectation of privacy, especially in the pre-collegiate levels, include the protection of a student's academic record from being viewed by anyone other than the academic instructor, the student's parents or guardians, and the students themselves. There have been many legal cases regarding the privacy concerns of pupils' academic records, for example the Owasso Independent School District v. Falvo that was handled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002. This particular case began in October 1998 when Kristja J. Falvo filed a lawsuit against the Owasso Independent School District on the premise that the grading practice employed in her children's classroom, peer grading, was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and of FERPA. Additionally, peer grading embarrassed her children in front of their peers, which could be interpreted as a violation of a student's expectation of privacy in the classroom. When the case reached the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, it was ruled in October 2000 that peer grading was not a violation of the constitutional Fourteenth Amendment but was, in fact, a violation of FERPA. The Tenth Circuit judges reasoned so by closely interpreting the statue in FERPA about privacy protection of "educational records." Since it was agreed upon that teacher grade books were considered "educational records," the Tenth Circuit decided that anything that went into these grade books, including student grades written on student work, were also considered "educational records" and thus subject to FERPA's privacy protection policies. After the court decision was released, peer grading practices were banned in school districts within the Tenth Circuit regional borders.
Many citizens and scholars were opposed to the Tenth Circuit's decision, and the case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2001. In 2002, the Supreme Court Justices officially ruled that peer grading was not a violation of FERPA. They reasoned that student grades on student work were not considered "educational records" until the teacher had physically recorded the grades into a grade book. Thus, peer grading returned as a common grading practice in classrooms across the United States.
Other examples of student expectation of privacy include the right of children to withhold personal information from teachers within a traditional classroom setting. Such topic remains as a contentious educational privacy concern in the classroom. Some argue that teachers should know more information about students in order to help support them in their academic endeavors. Others argue that teachers should refrain from prying into the personal lives of children because, like adults, children should have the right to privacy and determine the amount of information that they reveal to teachers. Still others make the claim that children are too young to make this decision for themselves and should consult their parents prior to revealing anything personal to their teachers.
Related to the 4th amendment, students expect to have the privacy to learn in their own homes without being monitored by the teacher or by other non-family members. Educational privacy can go beyond privacy of academic records into the privacy of discussing freely topics at school without being judged or notified by a teacher, and the privacy of physical movements around school and within school proximities. Students at different age level and grade level expect different degrees of freedom of expression and privacy. The level of privacy needed by students and educational facilities also vary by school districts, states, geographical locations, and demographics of school population.

Student educational records

Student educational records, according to the FERPA statute, is defined as "those records, files, documents, and other materials which-- contain information directly related to a student; and are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a person acting for such agency or institution."

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 was propelled by New York Senator James Buckley who promoted the importance of protection and privacy of educational records of students who attended primary and secondary schooling. As a federal legislation, FERPA grants students under the age of 18 and their parents the right to manage their educational records, which may include data about their academic performance, medical information, behavioral analysis, and more. Thus, when parents or guardians feel that their children's educational records have been exposed to the public in some way, they are able to file claims against the school district as a violation of FERPA.
For students over the age of 18, particularly those enrolled in postsecondary education institutions, FERPA can be vague and unclear about the disclosure of educational records to parents. Since individuals aged 18 and over are recognized as adults by the law, FERPA separates students in postsecondary education and their parents in terms of access to educational records such as health and drug records. According to Baker, many controversial issues may arise. For example, Baker writes that "FERPA regulation 99.31 allows disclosure to parents without the student's prior written authorization if the student is 'dependent' on the parents as defined by the Internal Revenue Code." However, there may be circumstances under which financially dependent students would not want their private records accessed by their parents. Additionally, FERPA authorizes the release to parents or guardians of information about recorded drug or alcohol use by students under the age of 21. If the underage and illegal drug or alcohol use resulted in legitimate concerns and disciplinary action, school administrators can notify and disclose details to parents without the students' permission.

Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)

applies to programs and activities of state education agencies that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education. It pertains to surveys, evaluations, and analysis of students concerning one or more of the protected areas:
  • Political affiliations or beliefs
  • Religious affiliations or beliefs
  • Mental issues
  • Sexual behavior
  • Illegal behavior
  • Income

    Common Core

As the Common Core State Standards are being developed and implemented in schools across the United States, some academics are bringing awareness to the potential privacy concerns of student data and educational records. According to Stacie Hunt, the Common Core system creates a large student database that keeps track of student performance and information from pre-K to college and even beyond. Federal government and other agencies are able to gain access to this database, analyze student data records, and sell pertinent information to the schools and districts overall. This creates a privacy concern about student data being spread and utilized by third-parties without the students', or their parents', explicit permission.

Educational technology ("Edtech")

is an emerging field in the area of education. According to Dylan Peterson, "edtech represents a broad category of educational products and services used in schools and by private individuals." Privacy concerns surround the fact that large amounts of data of each student using edtech are collected and stored in a wide database that can be accessed by schools. This data may be personal to the students and they may not wish for others to view it. However, edtech companies claim that without storing as much student data as possible, it would be more difficult to create programs that effectively address the students' educational needs. More and more educators are using technology, and it is likely to grow to the point where advanced technologies can be representative of all educational settings. This implies that every educator will eventually need to be aware of the use of technology, and be mindful of what the technology captures and whether it stores learners' personal data.
More researchers have found that improving education is an important value for society, as is the protection of the privacy of students. The opportunities that Big Data offer are immense, as it has been proven to be able to make essential connections that allow for improvements in the system. However, the negative uses of data can impact the learning of students, as well as their ability to develop socially.