Final answer:
FERPA protects the confidentiality of student education records, but it does not protect private notes of faculty and staff that are not kept as part of a student's official record. The other options listed—race when tied to a name, transcripts of grades, and student disciplinary records—are all considered part of the education records that FERPA aims to protect.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. According to FERPA, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA does allow schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions:
- School officials with legitimate educational interest;
- Other schools to which a student is transferring;
- Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
- Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
- Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
- Accrediting organizations;
- To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
- Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
- State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.
From the given choices, option C (private notes of faculty and staff not kept in a student record) is what FERPA does not protect. This is because FERPA's protections apply to formal education records that a school maintains and intends to share or disclose; personal notes made by faculty and staff that are kept private and not shared with others are typically not part of a student's education record.