Final Agreement Form (State MOU)

Memorandum of Understanding

By and Between the Ohio Department of Education and __________

This agreement is entered into by the Ohio Department of Education (“ODE”) and _____________ 

(“Researcher”) for the purpose of sharing information between the parties in a manner consistent with 

the Family Education Records Privacy Act of 1974 (“FERPA”). The information will be used by 

researchers at _____________ to conduct evaluative studies designed to improve instruction for 

children in the state of Ohio. Topics of these studies will include: ___________. In order to complete 

these studies and in order to have a positive impact on the instruction of children, the Researcher 

requires the use of student data from the ODE. 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Acts Statute (FERPA) describes circumstances under 

which State Educational Agencies (SEAs) are authorized to release data from an education record. 

This information can be disclosed to organizations conducting studies on behalf of SEAs, provided 

that Federal, State or local law authorizes the evaluation in question. Ohio Revised Code § 3301.12 

grants to the ODE State Superintendent of Public Instruction the authority to conduct studies of 

education programs, but the provision prohibits access to a student’s name, address or social security 

number.

1. PARTIES. The ODE is an SEA that is authorized to receive information from local educational 

agencies (“LEAs”) subject to FERPA, as authorized by 34 CFR Section 99.31. Researcher desires 

to conduct studies on behalf of ODE for the purpose of improving instruction in Ohio public 

schools in accordance with the Scope of Work Agreement attached hereto as Appendix A. The 

parties wish to share data collected by the ODE regarding education in Ohio, none of which will 

allow the identification of individual students. 

2. COMPLIANCE WITH FERPA. To effect the transfer of data subject to FERPA, Researcher 

agrees to:

1. In all respects comply with the provisions of FERPA. For purposes of this agreement, 

“FERPA” includes any amendments or other relevant provisions of federal law, as well as all 

requirements of Chapter 99 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Nothing in this 

agreement may be construed to allow either party to maintain, use, disclose or share student 

information in a manner not allowed by federal law or regulation.

2. Use the data shared under this agreement for no purpose other than research authorized 

under Section 99.31(a)(3)(iv) or 99.31(a)(6) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

Researcher further agrees not to share data received under this MOU with any other entity 

without the ODE’s approval. Researcher agrees to allow the Office of the State Auditor, subject 

to FERPA restrictions, access to data shared under this agreement and any relevant records of 

Researcher for purposes of completing authorized audits of the parties. Researcher shall be liable 

for any audit exception that results solely from its acts or omissions in the performance of this 
agreement. ODE shall be liable for any audit exception that results solely from its acts or 

omissions in the performance of this agreement. In the event that the audit exception results from 

the act or omissions of both parties, the financial liability for the audit exception shall be shared 

by the parties in proportion to their relative fault.

3. Require all employees, contractors and agents of any kind to comply with all applicable 

provisions of FERPA and other federal laws with respect to the data shared under this agreement. 

Researcher agrees to require and maintain an appropriate confidentiality agreement from each 

employee, contractor or agent with access to data pursuant to this agreement. Nothing in this 

paragraph authorizes sharing data provided under this Agreement with any other entity for any 

purpose other than completing Researcher’s work authorized under this Agreement.

4. Maintain all data obtained pursuant to this agreement in a secure computer environment and 

not copy, reproduce or transmit data obtained pursuant to this agreement except as necessary to 

fulfill the purpose of the original request. All copies of data of any type, including any 

modifications or additions to data from any source that contains information regarding students, 

are subject to the provisions of this agreement in the same manner as the original data. The 

ability to access or maintain data under this agreement shall not under any circumstances transfer 

from Researcher to any other institution or entity. 

5. Not to disclose any data obtained under this agreement in a manner that could identify an 

individual student to any other entity in published results of studies as authorized by this 

agreement, nor attempt to infer or deduce the identity of any student or teacher based on data 

provided by ODE, nor claim to have identified or deduced the identity of any student based on 

data provided by ODE. 

6. Not to provide any data obtained under this agreement to any party ineligible to receive data 

protected by FERPA or prohibited from receiving data from any entity. 

7. Provide to the ODE a list of specific research studies, updated annually, for which the data 

are being used, and to notify the ODE in advance of any new project or research question 

researcher proposes to address. This list of research studies will identify linkages of all data 

possessed by researcher under this agreement and covered by FERPA to specific research 

studies. Further, it will include the fixed ending date for use of all data linked to each project.

8. Provide to the ODE any materials designed for public dissemination, based in whole or in part 

on data obtained under this agreement, at least ten days prior to public release.

9. Destroy all data obtained under this agreement, within the time frame established in 

Appendix A, Section II, when it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained. 

Nothing in this agreement authorizes either party to maintain data beyond the time period 

reasonably needed to complete the purpose of the request. All data no longer needed shall be 

destroyed or returned to the ODE in compliance with 34 CFR Section 99.35(b)(2). Researcher 

agrees to require all employees, contractors, or agents of any kind to comply with this provision. 
3. DATA REQUESTS. 

1. The ODE may decline to comply with a request if it determines that providing the data in the 

manner requested would violate FERPA and/or would not be in the best interest of current 

or former students in Ohio public schools. All requests shall include a statement of the 

purpose for which it is requested and an estimation of the time needed to complete the 

project for which the data is requested. Data requests may be submitted by post, electronic 

mail or facsimile. 

2. Researcher agrees that ODE makes no warranty concerning the accuracy of the student data 

provided.

4. AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE. Researcher shall designate in writing a single authorized 

representative able to request data under this agreement. The authorized representative shall be 

responsible for transmitting all data requests and maintaining a log or other record of all data 

requested and received pursuant to this agreement, including confirmation of the completion of 

any projects and the return or destruction data as required by this agreement. The ODE or its 

agents may upon request review the records required to be kept under this section.

RELATED PARTIES. Researcher represents that it is authorized to bind to the terms of this 

contract, including confidentiality and destruction or return of student data, all related or 

associated institutions, individuals, employees or contractors who may have access to the data or 

may own, lease or control equipment or facilities of any kind where the data is stored, maintained 

or used in any way by Researcher. This Agreement takes effect only upon acceptance by an 

authorized representative of _____________, by which that institution agrees to abide by its terms 

and return or destroy all student data upon completion of the research for which it was intended or 

upon the termination of its current relationship with Researcher.

TERM. This agreement takes effect upon signature by the authorized representative of each party 

and will remain in effect until _________________. The parties further understand that the ODE

may cancel this agreement at any time for reasonable cause, upon thirty-day written notice. Notice 

of such cancellation shall be sent or otherwise delivered to the persons signing this agreement. 

The ODE specifically reserves the right to immediately cancel this agreement upon discovery of 

non-compliance with any applicable federal or state laws, rules or regulations. Further, the ODE 

specifically reserves the right to immediately cancel this agreement should the ODE, in its sole 

discretion, determine that student information has been released in a manner inconsistent with this 

agreement, has not been maintained in a secure manner, or that substantially similar data access 

has become generally available for research purposes through any other mechanism approved by 

the ODE. In the event of immediate cancellation, a notice specifying the reasons for cancellation 

shall be sent as soon as possible after the cancellation to the persons signing the agreement. 

5. BREACH AND DEFAULT. Upon breach or default of any of the provisions, obligations, or 

duties embodied in this agreement, the parties may exercise any administrative, contractual, 

equitable, or legal remedies available, without limitation. The waiver of any occurrence of 

breach or default is not a waiver of such subsequent occurrences, and the parities retain the right 

to exercise all remedies mentioned herein.
6. AMENDMENT. This agreement may be modified or amended provided that any such 

modification or amendment is in writing and is signed by the parties to this agreement. It is 

agreed, however, that any amendments to laws, rules, or regulations cited herein will result in the 

correlative modification of this agreement, without the necessity for executing written 

amendment.

7. ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS. Neither this agreement, nor any rights, duties, or obligations 

described herein shall be assigned by Researcher without the prior express written consent of 

ODE.

8. ENTIRETY OF AGREEMENT. All terms and conditions of this agreement are embodied herein 

and in the Scope of Work Agreement attached hereto as Appendix A. No other terms and 

conditions will be considered a part of this agreement unless expressly agreed upon in writing 

and signed by both parties.

Entered into by

____________________________ _____

Michael L. Sawyers Date

Acting State Superintendent of Public Instruction

_____

Matthew Cohen Date

Chief Research Officer

_____________________________ _____

[Signature] Date

[Printed Name and Title] 

[Name of Organization]