Which practice best supports maintaining confidentiality of student information in record-keeping?

• A. Require students to sign releases before sharing any information publicly.
• B. Archive all records in an insecure location.
• C. Limit access to grades and maintain secure storage of student information.
• D. Share detailed feedback with external agencies.

Answer: (C)

Protecting student privacy in record-keeping rests on controlling who can view the records and how they are stored. By limiting access to grades and related information to individuals with a legitimate educational interest and keeping records in secure storage—such as locked files for paper records and password-protected or encrypted systems for digital records—you reduce the risk of unauthorized disclosure. This approach aligns with privacy protections and ethical standards in education. Sharing information should only occur with proper authorization and through secure channels; the other options either promote disclosure without safeguards (signing releases for public sharing), create risk by insecure storage, or involve distributing detailed information to external agencies without authorization.