Law / United States / 
West Virginia
Student data contracts under Policy 4350: no sale, and contract terms for contractors, consultants, partners and researchers
W. Va. Code St. R. secs. 126-94-16 and 126-94-21.4
In force since .
A sensitive categories rule binding government bodies.
- Obligation class
- Contract terms, Prohibition
What it requires
- If you are the West Virginia Department of Education, a county, a school or an educational services cooperative, never authorize the sale of student education records (Policy 4350, section 126-94-16.2).
- Release personally identifiable student information to a contractor, consultant or partnering entity only with a contract, memorandum of understanding or statement of nondisclosure and confidentiality in place, and only for the purpose of the contracted service (section 126-94-16.5 and 16.7).
- Make each such contract, memorandum or statement require compliance with FERPA and Policy 4350 and prohibit sale, redisclosure or alternate use of the student information; a contractor, consultant or partnering entity is never authorized to sell or share it (section 126-94-16.6 and 16.8).
- Before releasing student data to a researcher, require a signed Data Disclosure Agreement and, once the research is completed, validation of the data's destruction on the Data Destruction Assurance Form (section 126-94-16.4.d to 16.4.g).
- Context: a researcher, contractor or other party that violates those terms on the redisclosure or sale of student education records is subject to legal action (section 126-94-21.4).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What this law does
Section 126-94-16.2 of Policy 4350 provides that student education records will never be authorized to be sold, while counties may release limited directory information for local fundraising efforts such as yearbooks and athletic programs, subject to parent and eligible student refusals.
Researchers authorized by the Department of Education must sign a Data Disclosure Agreement, a release of student data to researchers is a loan of data, and researchers must validate destruction of the data on the Department's Data Destruction Assurance Form once the research is completed.
Under section 126-94-16.5, personally identifiable information about students may be released only to entities authorized by the Department, the Higher Education Policy Commission, educational services cooperatives, counties or schools to develop, validate or administer predictive tests, administer student aid programs or improve instruction, with the proper legal documentation in place, including contracts, memoranda of understanding and statements of nondisclosure and confidentiality.
Contractors, consultants and partnering entities will never be authorized to sell or share student information, and are provided with student information only under their specific contracts, memoranda of understanding and statements of nondisclosure and confidentiality, as determined by the purpose of the contracted services. Those contracts, memoranda and statements must require compliance with FERPA and the rule, prohibiting sale, redisclosure or alternate use of the student information.
Section 126-94-21.4 makes researchers, contractors and other parties who violate those contracts, memoranda or statements with respect to the redisclosure or sale of student education records subject to legal action. The current version of the rule was filed on and took effect on .
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