Final answer:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 is the federal law that protects the privacy of students' personal information and restricts disclosure of their educational records.
Step-by-step explanation:
The federal law that governs the privacy of students' personally identifiable information (PII) and restricts the disclosure of educational records is known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974.
This act covers all educational institutions that receive federal funding.
Other significant privacy-related laws include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA),
which sets standards for the protection of patient information, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), that protects personal financial information.
Moreover, the Privacy Act of 1974 works to prevent unauthorized disclosure of personal information held by the federal government.
It's important to recognize the various federal laws that protect personal privacy in different areas such as education, health care, credit reporting, and government-held information.