will be provided by qualified mental and behavioral health professionals who are certified, credentialed, or licensed in compliance with applicable Federal and State law and regulations by the State involved and who are practicing within their area of competence. (K) Students will be permitted to self-refer to the mental health program for mental health care and self-consent for mental health crisis care to the extent permitted by State or other applicable law. (3) Coordinator Any entity that is a member of a partnership described in paragraph (1)(A) may serve as the coordinator of funding and activities under the grant if all members of the partnership agree. (4) Compliance with HIPAA A grantee under this section shall be deemed to be a covered entity for purposes of compliance with the regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. (5) Compliance with FERPA Section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (commonly known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 ) shall apply to any entity that is a member of the partnership in the same manner that such section applies to an educational agency or institution (as that term is defined in such section). (d) Geographical distribution The Secretary shall ensure that grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under subsection (a) will be distributed equitably among the regions of the country and among urban and rural areas. (e) Duration of awards With respect to a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection (a), the period during which payments under such an award will be made to the recipient shall be 5 years, with options for renewal. (f) Evaluation and measures of outcomes (1) Development of process The Assistant Secretary shall develop a fiscally appropriate process for evaluating activities carried out under this section. Such process shall include— (A) the development of guidelines for the submission of program data by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement