Student privacy and FERPA
You can document a removal and still protect your student's privacy. Here is what the law covers, and the simple habits that keep you on the right side of it.
What FERPA covers
FERPA is the federal law on student records. It applies to schools and districts, and it limits what they disclose from a student's "education records." A record kept only by the person who made it, as a personal memory aid, and not shown to anyone else, isn't an education record (34 CFR §99.3).
The U.S. Department of Education has also said that what a school employee knows from their own observation, and not from an education record, generally isn't protected by FERPA's limits. Once that observation is used to create a school record, such as a discipline record, the record is protected.
Habits that keep you safe
- Keep your notes where you control them, like a notebook or your own phone. A record you make and keep for yourself, and don't share, is the kind FERPA treats as a personal memory aid rather than an education record.
- Write what you saw and did. Actions, words, times, and what you tried.
- Keep school records out. Don't copy in anything from an IEP, a 504 plan, grades, test scores, health or counseling information, or the district's discipline system. You can say the student has an IEP; you don't need what's in it.
- Leave other students out. Describe a classmate as "another student," not by name.
- Use your own phone on your own data plan if you'd rather your district's systems not see your notes.
Your district's technology rules
Many districts limit putting student information into websites they haven't approved. The Texas Educators' Code of Ethics also says an educator "shall not reveal confidential information concerning students unless disclosure serves lawful professional purposes or is required by law" (19 TAC §247.2, Standard 3.1).
This site never sees your student's information: your letters are written in your browser and never sent to us. If you're unsure about your district's rules, check them before you use any website for student matters.
What this site does with student information
- It never receives a student's name or details. Letters and incident reports are written in your browser, and nothing is saved. If you download an answers file, it's stored only where you put it.
- It never sells information, never shows advertising, and never builds a profile of anyone.
- Nothing you write is sent to any AI service. The writing check runs on your device. How it works
Sources
- 34 CFR §99.3, definition of education records
- U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office
- 19 TAC §247.2, Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators
- Texas Education Code §32.151 and following (Student Privacy Act)
General information, not legal advice.
The whole process, start to finish
New here? Start at the beginning- 1Know your rightThe law gives the decision to you.
- 2Check that it fitsThree reasons. One incident can be enough.
- 3Keep a recordOne incident, one page. Print or save each one.
- 4Give written noticeYou notify your principal. You don't ask.
- 5The conferenceScheduled by the third class day. The student stays out until then.
- 6Your decision on the returnYour written consent, or the law's steps without it.
If your school ignores the law · Write your letters · Print the workbook · Something wrong on this page? Tell us
This site is general information, not legal advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. For your own situation, talk to a licensed Texas attorney.