Protecting student data isn’t just a best practice—it’s the law, but you already know the drill. FERPA compliance. Device security. Parent emails at 11 p.m. because someone’s Chromebook won’t connect to Zoom.
If you're leading IT in education, you're not just managing endpoints—you're managing chaos. And somewhere in that chaos, you’re expected to protect student data, fend off ransomware, keep the feds happy, and do it all without an enterprise-sized team or budget.
In this guide, we’ll show you how Prey empowers IT teams to operationalize FERPA compliance, protect your investment in devices, and give your leadership team the visibility and control it needs to sleep at night.
What FERPA really demands from your IT stack
FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is a federal law that governs how schools handle and protect student education records. FERPA isn’t just about policies—it’s about whether your systems can enforce those policies at scale. And for that, your IT stack needs more than encryption and firewalls. It needs to operate with intent across users, devices, and situations.
Let’s break it down:
- Ensure access control: Only authorized personnel should have access to student information. This can be enforced through role-based permissions, login restrictions, and device-level controls to make sure the right people have the right access—nothing more, nothing less.
- Protect data from breaches: Data must be secured at rest and in transit, and you must be ready to act the moment a device goes missing or gets compromised. Using tools for remote wiping and device locking can prevent unauthorized users from accessing student records in case of loss, theft, or compromise.
- Monitor and report security incidents: Having visibility into device activity and the ability to generate logs or alerts when something suspicious happens is critical. This supports timely response, documentation, and reporting—key for staying compliant.
When compliance slips, consequences follow
FERPA isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about avoiding serious consequences. Following it helps protect student data and shields schools from steep penalties, reputational damage, and the dreaded budget fallout.
Failing to comply with FERPA can lead to significant repercussions for educational institutions:
- Loss of federal funding: Failure to comply can jeopardize a school’s eligibility for federal aid—funds most institutions can’t afford to lose.
- Legal action: Students and parents may take legal steps if they believe their privacy rights were violated, leading to lawsuits and settlements.
- Severe reputational damage: A single breach can undermine trust with families, staff, and the wider community. And rebuilding that trust takes far longer than fixing a policy.
How Prey operationalizes FERPA compliance
Schools IT teams are tasked with a big responsibility: protecting student data while keeping up with evolving compliance requirements. The key is having a solution that’s both powerful and practical—without adding extra complexity.
That’s where Prey comes in. Designed for education environments, Prey gives your IT team the ability to monitor, secure, and manage every device in your fleet—from teacher laptops to student loaners—all while enforcing the core pillars of FERPA compliance.
No extra overhead. No siloed systems. Just one platform that brings together:
- Real-time visibility
- Automated incident response
- Smart access control
- Audit-ready activity logs
Whether you're preparing for a compliance audit or responding to a stolen Chromebook, Prey gives your team the power to act quickly, consistently, and at scale.
Let’s walk through what that looks like in practice.
Track & recover stolen or rogue devices
Managing a large fleet of student and staff devices is no small task, especially when devices go missing or something is off. Prey helps IT teams keep tabs on every asset with real-time tracking and intelligent tools to locate, secure, and recover lost or stolen equipment before data is compromised.
- Pinpoint lost or stolen assets in real-time using GPS, Wi-Fi triangulation, and IP tracking.
- Set up geofencing alerts to get notified or deploy automatic actions when devices leave designated areas.
- Gather forensic evidence like IP logs, screenshots, and device activity reports to support recovery or investigations.
- Global view dashboard to monitor your entire fleet at once.
- Mark devices as missing to trigger continuous tracking and evidence collection automatically.
- Use location history reports to analyze device movement over time.
Secure student & school data instantly
A lost laptop shouldn’t snowball into a data breach. Prey gives IT teams the ability to act fast—remotely locking devices, wiping data, or even rendering machines unusable—to make sure sensitive information stays protected.
- Remotely lock compromised devices to stop unauthorized access immediately.
- Trigger full or selective data wipe for fast removal of student records or app data.
- Encrypt drives using native BitLocker on Windows for added protection.
- Factory reset devices to remove all data and restore default settings.
- Kill switch (Windows only) to disable devices by destroying the master boot record.
- Set overdue loan policies to automatically secure unreturned devices.
- Send message alerts to contact device users and facilitate recovery.
- Trigger a loud alarm to help locate nearby lost equipment.
Streamline 1:1 device management
Managing thousands of devices across students, faculty, and departments can quickly become overwhelming. Prey simplifies oversight whether your school is BYOD, 1:1 program, or cart-based. IT admins gain a clear, real-time view of every device and can manage inventory, permissions, and usage—all from a single dashboard.
- Monitor device health, inventory, and usage including battery status, OS, connection state, and last seen location.
- Use groups, labels, and filters to organize fleets by campus, class, program and department.
- Assign devices to users and manage loan periods with return alerts.
- Automate return alerts and lockouts for overdue devices.
- View hardware info like serial numbers, IMEI, and network details at a glance.
- Switch between list and map views for better oversight of large fleets.
Automate security actions based on events
Manually securing devices one by one just doesn’t scale—especially for small IT teams managing hundreds of endpoints. Prey automates critical security actions, so teams can spend less time clicking and more time solving bigger challenges.
- Take action when devices go offline or fail to connect with Prey after a set period.
- Trigger alerts and location reports if a device crosses a geofence boundary.
- Receive automated logs with device activity and status for easy FERPA audits.
- Schedule actions like locks or alarms based on specific times or recurring events.
- React to hardware changes, battery status, or charging state with automated rules.
- Deploy mass actions like lock, alarm, or wipe across multiple devices with one click.
Take control of compliance & security
FERPA compliance might seem complex, but with the right security measures in place, it becomes manageable—even for small IT teams. By focusing on proactive protection and smart device management, schools can guard sensitive student data, stay ahead of cyber threats, and meet federal requirements without getting buried in manual tasks.
Get started with Prey today! Equip your school with a solution built for real-world education challenges. With Prey, you can protect your devices, secure student data, and simplify compliance—all from one centralized platform that works with the tools and teams you already have.
Oh and, before you go, take a look at how Prey can help with most IT needs to ensure FERPA compliance:
Built for school IT teams—not just compliance officers
Prey doesn’t just check boxes—it reduces your overhead. From centralized dashboards to powerful automations, it’s a force multiplier for IT departments that are already stretched thin.
Let’s be real: FERPA audits are stressful. Device loss is inevitable. But with Prey, you’re ready for both—with proof, process, and peace of mind. Equip your school with the tools to stay secure, audit-ready, and operational—without adding more chaos to your queue.
Get started with Prey today.
