The second a student enters kindergarten, a set of vital records is created, and this body of information expands throughout a child's academic career. Vital school records contain highly sensitive, private information, and there is no shortage of laws and policies to govern the handling, management and protection of such information. Schools often keep hard copies, microfilm and digital versions of this data but in the event of a disaster, certain measures must be taken to ensure a school district's responsibility to the public. Many districts already have a written comprehensive disaster recovery plan. Such a plan ensures that vital records are backed up daily and that the district will be able to recover operations more quickly when a major disaster occurs, such as the devastating floods experienced in the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In this article, the author provides strategies on how to protect students' vital records.