I have a question you haven’t answered. How can I ask it?

SHARING INFORMATION

Q: What sort of information should school leaders share regarding this flu outbreak with

parents as well as teachers?

A: Many parents have already heard of the potential for H1N1 flu outbreaks through the media,

and as with many sensitive issues, misinformation is always a potential problem. School leaders

are trusted figures in a community and should continue to provide accurate, yet not inflammatory,

information about the spread of this virus, effects in the school community, and as well as

encourage students or staff to stay home if they are sick.

Q: Are school districts permitted to disclose information on affected students to local,

State, and Federal authorities in the case of a severe pandemic?

A: Balancing an individual’s privacy with public health is important, but there are provisions for

sharing such information appropriately between health and education authorities in the event of

an emergency. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) permits school officials

to disclose, without consent, education records, or personally identifiable information from

education records, to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency, if knowledge of that

information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals. ED

provides additional guidance on FERPA and emergencies flu-related emergencies at

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/pandemic/guidance/pan-flu-guidance.pdf.

School officials may contact ED’s Family Policy Compliance Office with any questions by calling

(202) 260-3887 or by e-mailing FERPA@ed.gov.

Q: I have a question you haven’t answered. How can I ask it?

A: E-mail ED’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at flu@ed.gov. We will do our best to get

you an answer, and we will share the question and response here if we think there would be

broad interest. Don’t forget, though, that the best guidance on health questions comes from

physicians, health agencies and other experts. The Department of Education has relied on their

guidance to compile the information we’re providing here.

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS REGARDING FLU and PUBLIC HEALTH

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• H1N1 Flu updates: www.cdc.gov/swineflu

• Recommendations for affected schools and communities:

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/mitigation.htm

• Information on disease prevention and mitigation: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/school/

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Hotline (1-800-CDC-INFO) is

available in English and Spanish, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Pandemic Flu.Gov: www.pandemicflu.gov

• State pandemic influenza plans: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/index.html

• Checklists for schools, communities, and individuals and families:

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/checklists.html

Department of Education:

• Emergency planning for schools: www.ed.gov/emergencyplan

• Pandemic-specific planning information:

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/pandemic/index.htm

• Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools’ Technical Assistance Center:

http://rems.ed.gov

• Resources for teaching and learning online: http://www.free.ed.gov

• General information about WHO actions: http://www.who.int