How has the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 changed my rights under FERPA?
The No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President Bush in January of 2002. The Act requires school districts to meet new educational standards to continue receiving federal aid. In addition, school districts are required to develop policies and procedures to protect the personal information of children from marketing groups and testing companies. (www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml) The law applies to companies that provide school districts with information technology systems or Internet service as well as the more traditional written surveys. School districts must provide annual notices to parents about any plans for commercial surveys. Parents must be given an opportunity to review the survey and can veto their child’s participation. In addition, the Act prohibits the development of a nationwide database containing personally identifiable information on individuals who participate in surveys or other data-gathering processes. With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, s
