Lesson 4 of 6 · 10 min
The rules in plain English
The privacy rules you are most likely to meet in schools and in services for families, one sentence each.
In schools
You do not need to be a lawyer, but you should recognize these when someone mentions them.
- FERPA: schools need a parent's permission before sharing a student's records, with a few specific exceptions, such as sharing with a company doing a job for the school.
- COPPA: online services must get a parent's permission before collecting personal information from children under 13. A school can give that permission only when the data is used just for school, not for the company's own business.
- PPRA: surveys funded by the U.S. Department of Education need parent permission before asking students about sensitive topics such as family income, religion or mental health.
- State student privacy laws: most states ban edtech companies from selling student data, targeted ads and building student profiles for non-school purposes.
In services for families
Nonprofits and community programs meet a different set of rules.
- Benefit programs: information about people applying for programs such as SNAP may only be used and shared for purposes connected to running the program.
- HIPAA: protects health information held by health plans, health care providers and their business associates. It does not apply to most nonprofits, so know which of your partners it covers.
- Breach notification laws: every US state requires organizations to notify people when certain personal information is exposed, often within a set time.
The idea underneath all of them
Every one of these rules says the same thing in a different way: collect only what is needed, use it only for the purpose people agreed to, do not sell it or pass it on, keep it safe and delete it when you are done.
If you remember that sentence you will make the right call most of the time, even in situations no rule mentions by name, such as a new AI tool. When you are unsure, stop and ask your privacy contact before acting. This course is for learning, not legal advice.
Lesson quiz
Get 3 of 4 right to pass.