Compliance Today (February 2020)

On December 19, the U.S. Department of Education and the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the release of the “updated joint guidance addressing the application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to records maintained on students.

“The guidance, which was first issued in November 2008, clarifies for school administrators, health care professionals, families, and others how FERPA and HIPAA apply to education and health records maintained about students. The revised guidance includes additional frequently asked questions and answers addressing when a student’s health information can be shared without the written consent of the parent or eligible student under FERPA, or without written authorization under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. New clarifications and examples address:

When can protected health information (PHI) or personally identifiable information from an education record (PII) be shared with the parent of an adult student?

What options do family members of an adult student have under HIPAA if they are concerned about the student’s mental health and the student does not agree to disclosures of their PHI?

Does HIPAA allow a covered health care provider to disclose PHI about a minor with a mental health condition or substance use disorder to the minor’s parents?

When can PHI or PII be shared about a student who presents a danger to self or others?

Under FERPA, can an educational agency or institution disclose, without prior written consent, PII from a student’s education records, including health records, to the educational agency’s or institution’s law enforcement officials?

Does FERPA permit an educational agency or institution to disclose, without prior written consent, PII from a student’s education records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)?

This comprehensive guidance document contributes to this important effort by improving the public’s understanding of how FERPA and HIPAA apply to students’ health and educational information and when regulated entities can disclose such information, especially in connection with health and safety emergency situations.”

The joint guidance may be viewed at: https://bit.ly/2MdkiFm and https://bit.ly/2MhPQtz

For more: https://bit.ly/2Z9YBuP

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