School officials routinely seek to balance the interests of safety and privacy for students. While the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) generally requires written parent or "eligible student" consent before an educational agency (district) or institution (school) discloses student education records and the personally identifiable information (PII) contained therein, FERPA gives schools and districts flexibility to disclose PII, under certain limited circumstances, in order to maintain school safety. The purpose of this guidance is to address questions about how FERPA applies to schools' and districts' disclosures of PII from student education records to school security units, outside law enforcement entities, School Resource Officers (SROs), and other schools. While the information in this guidance is applicable to all educational agencies and institutions that receive funds under any program administered by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (Department), the discussion is generally focused on health or safety emergencies faced by public elementary and secondary schools.