Schools & privacy/exchange of information: HIPAA vs FERPA

[spero]

An FYI, b/c I did not know this.
(Mods, please do not move, as this is specifically posted for schools and vaccine/exemption info.)

http://emsc33.nysed.gov/sss/HealthServices/HIPAA.htm

It is important to distinguish between HIPAA and FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). Educational records that are subject to FERPA are expressly exempted from HIPAA’s coverage. Therefore, the confidentiality and privacy of school health records that are part of the student’s educational record are governed solely by FERPA. The passage of HIPAA does NOT change that in any way. HIPAA does, however, affect the nature of the exchange of information from the student’s health care provider TO the school. Previous informal exchanges between health providers and school health staff are no longer permitted; explicit written authorization is required from the parent or guardian in order for information to flow to the school. For example, immunization records require such authorization.

Within the school setting, FERPA continues to govern the exchange of health care information that is contained in the student’s educational record. It is not necessary to obtain a release of information from a parent or guardian in order to share such information with school staff for the purposes of insuring the best and most appropriate care for a student.

Yikes.

[grniys]

Hmmm... maybe it's me being over-tired right now, but I'm not thinking it's terribly awful. I mean, basically, it's saying that special needs kids can't have that info be kept from teachers. I would assume this would be so the teacher knows all the child's health problems that could effect his or her performance in school.

Then again, I'm exhausted and haven't had much time to think about this.

[PassionateWriter]

FERPA offers a lot of protection against the release of information from teh school to anyone outside the school BUT it is true that HIPAA does not apply to many exchanges w/in a school. Honestly, FERPA has a lot more teeth than HIPAA does.

[Ophelia]

Is this a federal thing or does it vary state by state? I know this is a NY state link.

[PassionateWriter]

http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

[spero]

This bothers me a whole lot:

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

* School officials with legitimate educational interest;
* Other schools to which a student is transferring;
* Specified officials (who gets to specify?) for audit or evaluation purposes;
* Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
* Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
* Accrediting organizations;
* To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
* Appropriate officials (again, who gets to decide whom is "appropriate"?) in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
* State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system (CPS, social/family services, etc.?), pursuant to specific State law.

Admittedly, most schools would probably not abuse these rights to non-consenting disclosure of information. But they certainly could, and get easily away with it. There's a lot of legal loopholes created here, IMO.

[PassionateWriter]

seriously, FIRPA does have teeth. if a student is transferring there are authorizations that a parent have to fill out, so its not as if FIRPA is being skirted in that case.

i worry about HIPAA violations MUCH more than FIRPA. FIRPA is pretty well known and schools have a very hard time releasing information (i used to work in a firm that had an Education Law department and when HIPAA came out there were a lot of Q's as to the applicability of HIPAA vs. FERPA).

sorry for typos...toddler!!

[Tanibani]

This would explain how the local paper could post the vaccination rate (in the 90th percentile) of every school district (or was it county?) of the State of California in a recent front page Sunday article on how parents who are refusing shots is putting everyone at risk.

(Paul Offit was the # 1 interview source of course.)

Yet * another * article about the "measles outbreak" and lack of vaccination, blah, blah, blah... These articles are popping up all over the country. Which says something else about the state of "journalism" these days.

All it is is fear mongering.

PM me if you want to read the article. I don't want to post it here and have people track it back to MDC. (Unless someone says it's fine.)