School leaders are often understandably confused as to which law applies to health- or medical-related records in schools: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) “Privacy Rule.” Whether you work in a public or private K-12 institution or a college or university, the answer to that question can have many implications. For those struggling with the question, recently revised guidance from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services provides some answers. Although we recommend that those who work with student or health records in schools, colleges, and universities review the entire 25-page guidance document, our summary below includes some of the key points from the guidance of which you should be aware.
Background on the Guidance
The joint guidance on the intersection of federal privacy laws governing student educational records and health records in schools was first issued in 2008. Both the original and the revised guidance explain but do not change the laws governing these types of records. The intent of the new guidance is to provide “updates and expand[ ] on prior guidance to help address potential confusion on the part of school administrators, healthcare professionals, and others on how FERPA and HIPAA apply to records maintained on students.”
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This is an except from a previously published article.