The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act states that any photograph taken on behalf of the school district becomes the property of the school and part of the student's education record. Under FERPA, the school must obtain written written permission from the parents to post anything from the child's educational record online. If the school does not identify the students in the photos, such as indistinct group photograph, the district does have the right to post the photos online.
The Protection of Human Subjects also protects students under special provisions if the online photography is taken for research purposes. If the photography identifies the student in the research study, and this identification can inflict harm or hardship through damaging a reputation or cause criminal or civil liability, this action violates the student's confidentiality. There are certain exemptions to this rule, but only if the photographs were publicly available through other online sources.
In addition to the FERPA law, individual school districts have policies regarding the photographing of school students. The policies should also cover the use of videotaping that may become released online. Technically, publicizing photographs is considered a disclosure of information. If the parent has made a written request to the school to not release photographs of their child, the school district must comply under the FERPA law.
Students may become photographed during school clubs and sponsored programs outside of school grounds. Any activity supported by the school district must comply with the FERPA law. People unassociated with the school district may, at their own discretion, post photographs taken of children. The parent may request the photographer to obtain permission or take down the photographs from the Web site.