Educational organizations handle large amounts of sensitive data every day.
Schools, colleges, and universities store sensitive student information across hundreds of devices—computers, servers, tablets, and more. When those devices are no longer in use, the data on them must be carefully destroyed.
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), personally identifiable information (PII) about students must be protected at all times and destroyed when it is no longer needed for its original purpose. Many institutions also follow NIST Special Publication 800-88, which provides specific guidelines for secure media sanitization and destruction.
Who in Education Must Follow FERPA Disposal Rules?
FERPA requirements extend to nearly every type of educational organizations, including:
- K–12 Schools – storing grades, disciplinary records, and family contact information
- School Districts – maintaining centralized systems with thousands of student files
- Universities & Colleges – holding admissions data, financial aid records, and research data
- Technical & Vocational Schools – managing training records, certifications, and job placement data
- Health Insurers and Billing Companies – storing claims, payment details, and patient identifiers
If you handle student information electronically, you must ensure proper disposal of end-of-life devices.
Free Recycling
Asset Reporting
Secure Data Destruction
All data will be securely wiped (exceeding DoD and NIST standards, upon request
The Risks of Improper Data Disposal:
Failing to properly destroy old electronics can bring serious consequences for educatinal organizations:
- FERPA violations can result in federal funding restrictions and compliance enforcement.
- Legal exposure & lawsuits from students or families if records are compromised.
- Reputation damage that harms trust with students, parents, and community partners.
- Operational disruption from audits, remediation, and potential systemwide reviews.
How Living Green Technology Helps Educational Institutions
We make electronics recycling and data destruction simple and compliant for the education sector.
- Certified destruction of hard drives, servers, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices
- On-site or off-site destruction options with documented chain-of-custody
- Certificates of Destruction that align with FERPA/NIST expectations
- Secure recycling for monitors, printers, networking equipment, and other IT assets
- Environmentally responsible processing to keep e-waste out of landfills
Living Green Technology Provides the following:
- Certified data destruction for hard drives, servers, tablets, and mobile devices.
- On-site or off-site shredding and wiping to render data completely unreadable.
- Compliance documentation & certificates of destruction for your records.
- Secure recycling of computers, monitors, printers, cables, and other e-waste.
- Environmentally responsible practices to ensure electronics never end up in landfills.
Our Step-by-Step Process
Our aim is to ensure your experience with LGT is as streamlined and headache-free as possible. Please refer to our simple six step process below to better understand our approach.
Not Sure About Recycling Your Tech? You’re Not Alone
Not Sure About Data Destruction and Recycling Your Tech?
Here Are Some Answers to Questions We Sometimes Receive.
Why does FERPA require secure disposal of devices?
FERPA protects student information. Schools must destroy personally identifiable information (PII) when it is no longer needed for its original purpose to prevent unauthorized access.
What is considered student PII under FERPA?
PII includes names, addresses, Social Security numbers, student IDs, grades, transcripts, disciplinary actions, financial aid data, and any information that can identify a student.
What happens if schools don’t properly destroy old devices?
They may face FERPA enforcement actions, loss of federal funding, lawsuits, and reputational harm if data is breached.
Does FERPA recommend a destruction method?
FERPA does not prescribe a method, but many schools use NIST SP 800-88 guidelines, which recommend wiping, degaussing, or shredding devices so data cannot be recovered.
How does Living Green Technology handle destruction?
We use certified wiping, shredding, and other secure methods. After completion, we provide a Certificate of Destruction for your records.
Do you recycle equipment after destruction?
Yes. After verified destruction, devices are responsibly recycled so materials are recovered and hazardous waste stays out of landfills.
Protect Students. Protect Your Institution.
Living Green Technology helps schools, districts, and universities protect their students, maintain compliance, and dispose of devices responsibly.
Contact us today to schedule a pickup or request a custom data destruction plan for your institution.
