Quick answer
A phone system holds more than calls. It can store voicemail, call records, recordings, transcripts and emergency location records. When any of that is directly about a student and is held by the district or by a company acting for it, it may be a student education record under FERPA. Decide what you store, ask your provider how it is handled, and put the answers in writing.
This is general planning guidance, not legal advice. Whether a particular record is protected depends on its content and your state's laws. Ask your district's counsel.
1. What a phone system can store
- Call records. Numbers, dates, times and call duration.
- Voicemail. Audio, and sometimes a copy sent by email.
- Recordings. Only if call recording is turned on for some or all lines.
- Transcripts. Text of voicemail or calls, sometimes created by another company's software.
- Directory data. Names, extensions and caller ID information.
- Location records. The building, floor and room tied to each phone for emergency calls.
2. When it may be a student record
The U.S. Department of Education says education records are records that are directly related to a student and are maintained by an educational agency or institution, or by a party acting for it. A voicemail from a parent about a child's attendance or services is one example that could meet that test. A call to ask about bus times may not. Treat the question as one for counsel, not a rule of thumb.
3. What to ask your provider
- Where is voicemail, recording and transcript data stored, and for how long?
- Is recording off by default? Who can turn it on?
- Does any other company, including an AI or transcription service, process our calls or voicemail?
- Who at the provider can see our data, and is that access logged?
- What happens to our data when the contract ends? Can we export and delete it?
- How and how quickly will we be told about a security incident?
- Does the contract limit the provider's use of our data to the services it provides to us?
FERPA allows a district to share records with a contractor performing a service for it only under conditions, including that the contractor is under the district's direct control for the use and maintenance of the records and uses them only for the authorized purpose. Ask counsel to review the agreement.
4. Other rules to check
- Call recording consent. State laws differ on whether one party or all parties must consent to a recording. Check yours before turning recording on.
- State student privacy laws. Many states add requirements beyond FERPA.
- Public records. Records the district holds may be subject to your state's public records law.
- Retention. Your district's records schedule may apply to voicemail and recordings.
5. A short checklist
- List what your phone system stores today.
- Turn off recording and transcription you do not need.
- Add the questions in section 3 to your next renewal or contract review. See the Phone System Contract Renewal Checklist.
- Record the answers in your assessment worksheet.