Dept. of Education proposes new rules on student privacy

The Chronicle of Higher Education news blog is reporting that the US Dept. of Education has proposed changes in student privacy rules in FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) in the wake of the shootings 2 years ago at Virginia Tech. The rules clarify the Dept. of Ed's policy that institutions of higher education have to balance student privacy concerns with safety concerns. The rules say that the Dept. of Ed. will defer to institutions’ decisions, so long as the institutions have a rational basis for their determinations. The proposed changes are similar to guidelines the department published in October in the wake of the shootings at Virginia Tech.