FERPA – Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (Buckley Amendment), signed
into law August 21, 1974; effective November 19, 1974
Protects the privacy of student education records.
The Act affords parents the right to access and seek to amend their
children’s educational records up to the age of 18. When a student
turns 18, or enters a postsecondary institution (at any age), the rights transfer from the parents to the student. FERPA allows the
student to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable
information from the educational record.
Privacy Act of 1974 – effective September
27, 1975
Omnibus code of fair information practices. Regulates the collection,
maintenance, use and dissemination of personally identifiable
information. The purpose of the Privacy Act is to restrict
disclosure of information about individuals with the rights of the individuals
to be protected against unwarranted invasions of their privacy.
Paperwork Reduction Act – effective
September 30, 1995 (revised from 1977)
Minimizes the paperwork burden for individuals, offices,
businesses, contractors, governments, and other persons. Ensures the
greatest possible benefit from and maximize the utility of information
created, collected, maintained, used, shared and disseminated. Coordinate,
integrate and make uniform policies and practices as a means to improve
productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of information collected.
Provide for the dissemination of information on a timely basis, on equitable
terms and in a manner that promotes the utility of the information.
Historical Records Act – effective
June 19, 1934
Any record created more than 20 years ago may have historical
or evidentiary value and should be reviewed by the Archives
for possible long-term retention.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act Privacy Rule – effective
August 21, 1996; revised August 14, 2002
Established a set of national standards for the protection
of certain health information. The Privacy Rule addresses the
use and disclosure of individuals’ health information as well
as standards for individuals’ privacy rights to understand and
control how their
health information is used.
Compiled by J. Esposito, July 2003
