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HIPAA Versus FERPA Compliance
Question: If FERPA applies to agencies
& institutions that receive funds via the umbrella of
the Secretary of Education, why is the ‘Early Intervention
Program’ covered by FERPA oversight of Early Intervention
administered, in the most part, by local Departments of
Health?
 Answer:
To appreciate the answer to this question, one
must understand the origin of the laws and processes involved
in the formation of Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), which gave birth to the Early Intervention Program.
The history begins with the American Disabilities Act of
1973 which raised awareness to the special needs population.
Further legislation was passed in 1975 to enact the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, also known as Public Law
(PL) 94-142. This law required all states that accepted
federal aid for special education to offer all disabled
students a free and appropriate education. Based on these
findings, further legislation was passed in 1975 to enact
the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, also known
as Public Law (PL) 94-142. This law required all states
that accepted federal aid for special education to offer
all disabled students a free and appropriate education.
In 1986, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act
was amended to include PL 99-457 which "supported the
right to early intervention services of all infants, toddlers,
and preschoolers with a disability to those at risk of having
a substantial developmental delay1." Further amendments
of PL 99-457 in 1990 brought major changes to the original
Education for All Handicapped Children Act and created the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Two
important sections were specified in the IDEA known as Part
B and Part C (formerly Part H). Part B of IDEA was developed
to include public school system responsibility for providing
services to eligible children aged three to 21. Part C of
IDEA was established to give states the option to provide
early intervention services for eligible infants and toddlers
aged birth through two years of age. The key theme running
through the history of laws that lead to the gestation and
birth of the Early Intervention Program is “Education.”
FERPA versus HIPPA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act, known as HIPAA, was created in 1996 to help secure
families with health insurance. Title II of HIPAA, the Administrative
Simplification (AS) provisions address the security and
privacy of health data, whether electronic or paper. Oversight
of HIPPA is provided by U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (DOHHS). Because monies for the Early Intervention
Program does not flow from the DOHHS, the stringent HIPPA
laws pertaining to child data DO NOT apply to the Early
Intervention Program, which receives its funding via the
United State Department of Education.
In a nutshell, the underpinning of the early intervention
program is based on IDEA, and the “E” of IDEA
stands for ‘education.’ Hence, the federal monies
flowing to the State Early Intervention Programs are tied
to FERPA.
However, according to some State regulatory guidelines,
the billing information (electronic remittance advice) which,
when interfacing with a web-based billing program, must
be electronically transmitted in accordance with HIPAA regulations.
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