Melinda Kaufmann of Pullman & Comley writes:
The U.S. Department of Education Student Privacy Policy Office recently provided more in-depth information regarding FERPA and virtual education in light of COVID-19 through a webinar. Much of what they discussed has already been covered in our prior posts on the issue: (here), (here) and (here). Here are some clarifying answers given by the U.S. Department of Education.
Can teachers video record virtual classes and share the recording to students who were unable to attend the class?
The DOE has now answered the $100,000 question: yes, it is permissible under FERPA to record classes and share the recording of the virtual class to students who were unable to attend. As we discussed previously, the teacher must take care not to disclose personally identifiable information (“PII”) from student education records during a virtual lesson unless written permission has been provided to do so.
Read more on JDSupra.