Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) requires school districts to adopt several policies regarding surveys of students, instructional materials, physical examinations, personal information used for marketing, and the like. Parents must be notified of these policies at least annually at the beginning of the school year and within a reasonable time period after any substantial change to the policies. 20 U.S.C. § 1232h(c)(2)(A). The Department of Education’s Protecting Student Privacy provides a PPRA Model General Notice of Rights and a PPRA Model Notice and Consent/Opt-Out for Specific Activities on its website.

If a district plans to (1) use students’ personal information for selling or marketing purposes; (2) administer any survey about any of the eight topics listed in the statute (political beliefs, income, sex behavior or attitudes, etc.); or (3) administer certain non-emergency, invasive physical examinations, the district must directly notify parents at least annually at the beginning of the school year of the specific or approximate dates when these activities are scheduled or expected to be scheduled. 20 U.S.C. § 1232h(c)(2)(B), (c)(2)(C).

The Department of Education’s Protecting Student Privacy lists policies that PPRA requires LEAs to develop, with the consultation of parents. These policies concern privacy, parental access to information, and administration of physical examinations of minors. NOTE: This document also contains resources regarding FERPA and remote learning due to COVID-19.

The Department of Education’s Protecting Student Privacy provides all FERPA and PPRA model notices at: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/annual-notices.