Audrey Waldrop and Anh Dao

Rule may let schools release student data

The Department of Education proposed an amendment last Thursday to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act that would grant states the flexibility, when deemed necessary, to divulge private student records to ensure taxpayer funds are being invested in effective programs. By making data more readily available to research groups, the writers of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making claim the amendment would facilitate states' abilities "to evaluate education programs, build upon what works and discard what does not, increase accountability and transparency and contribute to a culture of innovation and continuous improvement in education," according to the summary posted on the government website. NPRM deals with discrete issues about student IDs and directory information.