Student Privacy Policy Office - Local Education Agency Website Student Privacy Transparency Reviews - Combined Three-Year Report Summary

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

Executive Summary of a U.S. Department of Education Student Privacy Policy Office four-year review assessing how 1,504 local education agency websites (376 per year in a nationally representative sample) present student privacy information. Findings combine years 1–3: 55% post the FERPA Annual Notice, 52% post Directory Information policies under FERPA, and 29% post PPRA policies, with fewer than 20% listed as primary page content. Most documents are embedded in student handbooks (often PDF links). Results also assess website navigation and parent-facing contact availability, and describe sample selection methods, relevant background, and statutory context under FERPA and PPRA.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Background

Sample Selection

Results

Combined Three-Year Findings

Topic: Annual Notice

U.S. Department of Education Student Privacy Policy Office Local Education Agency Website Student Privacy Transparency Reviews – Combined Three-Year Report Summary Review Period: September 2018-June 2021 Executive Summary The Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) at the U.S. Department of Education (Department) is performing a four-year review of a sample of the websites of 1,504 local education agencies (LEAs) to identify whether and how these websites include information about student privacy. In each year of the study, SPPO is reviewing a nationally representative sample of 376 LEA websites, focusing on whether the LEAs include key student privacy documents and information about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) on the LEA website, as opposed to on individual school, board of education, or other websites. This report includes the first three years of research findings. Combined three-year findings: • 55 percent of LEAs reviewed posted on their websites the LEA’s Annual Notice under FERPA, • 52 percent of LEAs posted on their websites the LEA’s policy under the Directory Information exception under FERPA, and • 29 percent of LEAs posted on their website the LEA’s policy under PPRA. For these three key privacy documents that are posted on the LEA websites, fewer than 20 percent are listed as primary website content. In more than 50 percent of the cases, the documents are included as part of the student handbook, which may be a Portable Document Format (PDF) or other type of document linked from the LEA webpage. For the websites reviewed, 10 percent of LEA websites have navigation menus that include a section indicating where to find data practices and student privacy information. Moreover, only 6 percent of LEA websites include the LEA contact information if parents have questions about data sharing and student privacy. Background This study is derived from Strategic Objective 3.2, Performance Measure 3.2c of the U.S. Department of Education Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2018-2022. To inform the Department’s review of this objective, SPPO and its Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) are studying LEA practices for providing information on data sharing and student privacy on their websites. SPPO is responsible for administering FERPA and PPRA, and providing guidance and best practices on student privacy to the education community. SPPO recommends as a transparency best practice that LEAs post their FERPA and PPRA student privacy-related information on their websites so that information is easily available to parents and the community. FERPA does not require that LEAs post their annual FERPA notice on their websites, but the law specifically requires LEAs to provide notice annually to parents of students and eligible students of their rights under FERPA “by any means that are reasonably likely to inform the parents or eligible students of their rights.” See 34 CFR § 99.7. With the increased utilization of LEA websites for the timely dissemination of information to the school community, SPPO believes that posting an appropriate notice on the LEA website is an effective manner of meeting FERPA’s Annual Notice requirement. Sample Selection To complete the review, a sampling plan was developed to determine which LEAs would be reviewed across four years of data collection (fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022). A single sample of 1,504 LEAs was selected at the outset of the study and randomly divided into four groups of 376 LEAs that would be reviewed across the four data collection years to create a nationally representative sample for each year. In addition, a replacement sample of 100 LEAs was selected that may be used if any original sample LEAs cannot be included at the time of data collection (for example, if the LEA closed or if the LEA’s website is inactive). In each year of the study, 376 LEA websites, a nation

FAQs

What is the purpose of the combined three-year report summary?

It evaluates whether and how local education agency (LEA) websites include information about student privacy, including documents related to FERPA and PPRA. It also reports key transparency findings across years 1–3.

Which privacy documents were most commonly posted on LEA websites?

Across the reviewed LEAs, 55% posted the LEA’s Annual Notice under FERPA, 52% posted the Directory Information policy under FERPA, and 29% posted the LEA’s policy under PPRA.

How are posted privacy documents typically presented on the websites?

Fewer than 20% are listed as primary website content. In more than 50% of cases, the documents are included as part of the student handbook, often available as a PDF or another document linked from the LEA webpage.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel