SROs, School Law Enforcement Units, and FERPA

School officials routinely seek to balance the interests of safety and privacy for students. While the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) generally requires written parent or “eligible student”1 consent before an educational agency (district) or institution (school) discloses student education records and the personally identifiable information (PII) contained therein, FERPA gives schools and districts flexibility to disclose PII, under certain limited circumstances, in order to maintain school safety.