AI Privacy & Compliance
FERPA
Compliance
How Secondary AI supports your school's FERPA obligations for educational records and student data privacy.
Schools remain in control of student records. We act in their service.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. When schools use Secondary AI, student interactions become part of the school's education records. We act as a "school official" with a legitimate educational interest in these records — meaning we are bound by the same FERPA obligations as the school itself. Our role is to process data on your behalf, not to own or exploit it.
"Student data is used for one purpose: helping that student learn."
— Secondary AI's data use principle
How We Comply
Five ways we support
your FERPA obligations.
School as Data Controller
Schools remain the primary controller of student education records. Secondary AI acts as a service provider — a "school official" under FERPA — that processes student data on behalf of the school to provide educational services. We use student education records only for providing and improving our educational services, never for advertising, profiling, or any purpose outside the stated educational context.
Restricted Access & No Unauthorized Disclosure
Access to student records is strictly limited to: the teacher who created the chatbot, authorized school administrators, the individual student (their own data), and authorized Secondary AI personnel for technical support only. We will not disclose records to third parties without written consent from parents or eligible students, or a valid FERPA exception.
Data Use Agreements
We maintain Data Use Agreements with schools outlining the specific education records accessed, legitimate educational purposes, data security and confidentiality requirements, retention and deletion procedures, and our commitment to not re-disclose student information. All student data is treated as confidential education records.
Audit, Access & Export Rights
We maintain detailed audit logs of record access, available to schools upon request. Schools and teachers can export all student data in a standard format at any time. Parents or eligible students can request amendments to inaccurate records through their school.
Deletion on Request
Upon termination of a school's use of Secondary AI, or upon specific request, we securely delete all student records within 30 days or return them as directed by the school. Teachers can delete individual sessions or entire chatbots at any time from their dashboard. Student data is never used to train AI models.
Quick Reference
FERPA compliance at a glance.
No student accounts — no PII collected directly from students
Teachers control access to every chatbot and session
Student data is never sold or shared with third parties
Anonymous mode available — students use IDs instead of names
Data encrypted in transit and at rest
Audit logs of record access available to schools on request
Secure deletion within 30 days of request
Student data never used to train AI models
In Our Privacy Policy
FERPA compliance is documented in full in our Privacy Policy.
Our full Privacy Policy contains the complete, legally binding detail of how we handle educational records — including our data use agreements, disclosure restrictions, retention schedules, and school administrator rights. If you are a district administrator, compliance officer, or legal reviewer, the Privacy Policy is the authoritative reference document.
Read the full Privacy PolicyLearn More About Our Privacy Commitments
Explore student safety, data handling, and compliance across the platform.
Privacy Overview