Great question, James ... and one that doesn't have an easy answer. One fundamental difference is the age of the students. When a student reaches the age of 18 they are empowered to make confidentiality decisions on their own. Parental consent is required for students attending the local K-12 schools. This protects the student is some odd ways. For example, the college is not free to provide information about attendance and academic performance to parents unless the student has authorized the disclosure - even if Mom and Dad are paying the bill. Many higher ed institutions include a reference to how personal information will be handled in their enrollment agreement. Institutions approach this differently but it is a topic that you might want to discuss. If students are notified in advance that information about their behavior and performance will be shared - and they sign off on the policy, you may be able to develop new procedures. There are many different interpretations of the law; decisions should be made with the help of counsel.