Education data can empower educators, students, parents, and policymakers with the information they need to make the best decisions to improve student achievement, information that can move the nation toward an education system in which every student graduates prepared for college and career. Safeguarding the privacy of student data is a critical component of effective data use, and this data stewardship is a shared responsibility. Recently, conversations about how education data are collected and used, and the ways in which student privacy is safeguarded, have been taking place around the country. An important part of these conversations is ensuring that existing privacy laws and practices are well understood and that misconceptions about data use and privacy are addressed. This document dispels the most common myths with concise talking points and related resources. Information about the number of states reporting an activity is based on Data Quality Campaign's (DQC) "Data for Action 2013."