By: Aaron L. Austin, Ed.D., Consultant, TNG Consulting, LLC
As part of our series on NABITA’s Industry Standards for Behavioral Intervention Teams, we will focus on Standard 7, which deals with the intersection of behavioral intervention and confidentiality. This standard emphasizes the importance of complying with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other privacy laws. This article recommends best practices to help organizations meet these compliance requirements.
Standard 7. Information Sharing: Team members share information according to BIT standard operating procedures and comply with FERPA/privacy/confidentiality requirements (as applicable) when accessing and sharing information.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, referred to as FERPA, governs how BITs share educational records and information directly related to a student. This includes case management or BIT referrals, case notes, and BIT notes. When sharing information, it is essential to remember that FERPA permits the disclosure of information contained in education records, without the student’s consent, to school officials with a legitimate educational interest. This allows the team to discuss information they need to know to conduct their work. For example, let’s imagine a new referral to the team is being discussed in the BIT meeting. The team members come to the meeting prepared with information from their specific area.
- The Dean of Students provides an update on the student’s involvement in clubs, activities, or leadership programs.
- The Law Enforcement representative shares if the student has been arrested on campus, if a previous criminal history exists, and/or if the student has a registered weapon.
- A representative from Housing shares where the student lives on campus and if there have been issues within the residence hall.
- The Student Conduct representative shares if the student has current or previous Student Conduct cases and if they are on probation.
- The Academic Affairs representative shares the student’s current academic standing and if there are concerns about the student’s academic performance and/or if their professors have shared any issues in the classroom.
The BIT is at its best when conversations between team members are candid and members are mindful to refrain from letting supervisory or positional power impede the team’s discussion of individual cases. This allows for robust team conversations that dismantle information silos and embrace various perspectives. However, all team members should know how to share information appropriately. Team members with privileged relationships, such as mental health counselors, may only share information as applicable under state law and professional ethical standards, which can be challenging to navigate. This individual should not share too much information as it may violate the requirements of their licensure and demean the nature of the client-counselor relationship. At the same time, it is not beneficial to the student or the team for the counselor to sit in silence and not provide information critical to the team’s response. To help address this concern, NABITA created “The Role of the Counselor on the Behavioral Intervention Team.” This document speaks directly to this role on the team and provides practical ways to navigate the requirements of the counselor’s license with the needs of the student and BIT.
Practical tip: Ensure that all members are educated on applicable privacy and confidentiality standards by looking for team training programs that cover FERPA, state laws, institutional policies, and other relevant guidelines. The BIT chair can proactively select appropriate training topics for onboarding new team members and ongoing education for the existing members.
Stay tuned for the remaining Tips of the Week in the BIT Standards refresh series. In the meantime, expand your FERPA knowledge with our “20-Minutes To… Trained” video on FERPA v. HIPAA v. privilege.