Special education has two sets of privacy rules that must be followed.  These two sets of rules are Family Education Records Privacy Act (FERPA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).  In other words, FERPA is the overriding records law that schools follow while HIPAA applies to the medical field.  However, due to the requirements of eligibility and ongoing services it is often required that there is ongoing contact between educational agencies and the medical community.

The form, Authorization to Use and/or Disclose Educational and Protected Health Information, was created so that educational agencies could request information from health entities that require HIPAA-compliant release forms.   (HIPAA:  Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). This form is used when there is a need to obtain consent from a parent, legal guardian or student/child to authorize the named agency to:

• Send/disclose protected health information and/or educational information; and/or
• Receive/use protected health information and/or educational information.

Supporting Documents

Authorization to Use/Disclose Information