92 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 6, § 004

Current through September 17, 2024

Section 92-6-004 - Sharing of Personally Identifiable Student Records Between School Districts, Learning Communities, ESUs and the Department

004.01General Background

Applicable law permits an educational agency or institution to disclose personally identifiable information from a student's education record maintained by it, or on behalf of it, in the following circumstances:

004.01A To a party to whom the educational agency or institution has outsourced institutional services or functions, provided that the party (i) performs an institutional service or function for which the educational agency or institution would otherwise use its own employees; (ii) is under the direct control of the educational agency or institution with respect to the use and maintenance of the education records; (iii) the party to whom the information is disclosed will not disclose the information to any other party without the prior consent of the parent or eligible student; and (iv) only uses the information for which the disclosure was made;

004.01B To authorized representatives as set forth in Section 79-2,104(3)(a) R.R.S. of state and local educational authorities when in connection with an audit or evaluation of any federal or state supported education program or for the enforcement of or compliance with federal legal requirements that relate to those programs. The disclosing educational agency or institution and the state or local educational authority must also adhere to the requirements concerning the use, protection and destruction of the personally identifiable information, and utilize the written agreement provided for in Appendix A of this Chapter; or

004.01C To other educational agencies or institutions or state or location educational authorities conducting studies for it or on its behalf to (i) develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; (ii) administer student aid programs; or (iii) improve instruction. The study must be conducted in accordance with the requirements of Appendix B of this Chapter.

004.02Requirement for school districts, ESUs, learning communities, and the Department

Whenever any school district, ESU, learning community, or the Department may disclose personally identifiable information in or from education records under one or more of the circumstances described in Sections 004.01A - 004.01C of this Chapter to a school district, ESU, learning community, or the Department, it shall do so when a written request is made of it for such information or records by authorized representatives of such school district, ESU, learning community, or the Department. If the school district, ESU, learning community, or the Department decides not to provide such information as requested, then the school district, ESU, learning community or the Department shall provide written notification to the entity making the request and its reason(s) for denying the request.

004.03De-Identified Student Information

Information from student records that contains personally identifiable information as defined in Section 002.11 of this Chapter may be altered so as to remove or mask elements and cause such records to be de-identified. In such cases, the records are then not personally identifiable information from student records, may be disclosed generally, and shall be de-identified and disclosed upon request as between school districts, ESUs, learning communities and the Department when such de-identified information satisfies the request and purpose of the requesting entity, and such de-identification can be reasonably accomplished.

004.04Data Security

Information exchanged between all parties shall be maintained and supported through secure transfer methods. Every effort and process should be ensured to protect the integrity and confidentiality of any related data records. In addition, Section 004.03E of 92 NAC 27 provides that an educator shall keep in confidence personally identifiable information that has been obtained in the course of professional service, unless disclosure serves professional purposes, or is required by law.

92 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 6, § 004