Privacy isn’t optional in school-home communication—it’s a legal and ethical necessity.
However, teachers and parents today still rely on generic messaging tools like WhatsApp, GroupMe, or mass texting from personal phones.
Teachers may start text threads with a group of parents without parents’ consent to be included in such threads.
While these tools feel convenient and the reason for using them is well-meaning, they reside in a problematic landscape. Parent and student contact information may be published without consent, and school administrators might not know much about the private text threads teachers have started. If things go wrong, schools have very little oversight of tracking the conversations, if any.
When a school approaches its communication practices using the framework of The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), it becomes clear that communication needs more thought and precision. FERMA protects student privacy, and since students are the reason for school-home communication, we need to consider the role of FERMA in parent-teacher communication, too.
What Is FERPA, and Why Does It Matter?
“The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records.”
FERPA is in place to protect the sharing of student education records and private information. FERPA mainly protects student grades, disciplinary actions, and special learning needs. Schools must notify parents when the student’s information is shared in school directories and other media. In summary, FERPA includes:
- Restricting access to student data
- Preventing unauthorized disclosure of records
- Giving parents the right to review and control their child’s information
Here is an informational video provided by the U.S Department of Education:
6 Ways School Signals Aligns With FERPA
School Signals complies with FERPA and takes student privacy seriously.
1. School Signals is the Official Communication Network for School
School Signals is a closed platform. Schools must verify their identity to create a space, preventing unauthorized use or personal communication tools from being mixed into official school discussions. This helps maintain a clear boundary between school communications and personal messaging, keeping everything in line with school policies.
2. Role-Based Access Keeps Sensitive Information in the Right Hands
Each staff member has a defined role, limiting access to only the messages and groups relevant to their job. For instance, a classroom teacher can connect with their class parents—but may be restricted from communicating in parent groups where they are not a member of, unless given specific permission.
3. No Public Listings of Student Information
School Signals never publishes student records. All parent connections happen through secure links or school-approved invitations. The school does not automatically associate parents with children’s names in private profiles. Parents can keep their profile information fully hidden. If parents keep their profile visible, they can opt-in to include their child’s first name in their profile to help others recognize who’s who in a group. Profile sharing is always optional and never required by the school. Since this information is voluntarily provided by the parent—not disclosed by the school—it falls outside FERPA’s restrictions.
4. Communication Is Logged, Searchable, and School-Owned
Unlike personal text threads or third-party group chats, all messages on School Signals are logged and available to school administrators. Schools maintain an official record of communication, which supports transparency and accountability. Parents have tools in place to report any message immediately that they consider a violation of FERPA.
5. We Respect What Counts as a ‘Record’
FERPA doesn’t restrict direct communication between parents and schools—but it does apply to anything that constitutes a formal “education record.” School Signals ensures schools retain full access to those communications when needed, without releasing records beyond the parent and staff involved.
6. Inform Parents About FERPA in School Signals
Each year, schools are required by FERPA to inform parents of their rights regarding:
- Access to education records
- Consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII)
- Filing complaints if FERPA regulations are not followed
By using the School Feed in School Signals, schools can publish these important FERPA notifications in a centralized, accessible location, ensuring parents receive timely and precise information. This communication can be updated annually, sent out with reminders, and even linked to additional resources—helping to maintain transparency, compliance, and trust with the parent community.
Built for Schools. Backed by Privacy
School Signals is a private, closed network for teacher-parent communication and parent engagement. While School Signals does not maintain students’ grades and disciplinary recommendations, we advise reminding the school community of FERPA-compliant school communication practices and respecting student privacy in general:
- Build trust by using School Signals to educate parents about their rights under FERPA.
- Use School Feed and Classroom Feeds respectfully and avoid conversation topics related to student grades.
- Avoid communication outside password-protected and secure communication channels. Explain teachers the pitfalls of private text messaging and the use of unofficial communication apps.
- Educate school volunteers about their responsibilities under FERPA. You can add information to the Volunteering Feed and ask Volunteers to fill out online forms to comply with FERPA.
- Allow parents to request that their children’s pictures not be posted in School Signals. Create a simple online form to collect the forms.
- Choose a platform such as School Signals where users can enable two-factor authentication.
- Choose a platform where private messages are not provided in email format.
- Advice teachers not discuss student grades in a group chat.
- School Communication Hub in Action: How to Transform School-Home Engagement - April 23, 2025
- How To Super Power Parent Volunteer Participation Now - April 21, 2025
- Privacy At Stake: How to Prioritize FERPA Compliance in School Communication - April 19, 2025
