The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, otherwise known as “FERPA” affords three important rights to all students and parents of students with respect to school recordkeeping:
1) Access to Records
2) Required Consent to Release records and
3) Right to make Corrections or Amendments to records.
ACCESS
FERPA gives parents (including guardians and those acting as parents) and eligible students (meaning students over 18, or those attending postsecondary education) certain rights concerning their, or their child’s, educational records. Any school receiving funding from the Department of Education is required to protect the privacy of educational records and to provide parents and eligible students certain rights to access and amend those records.
Regarding the right to access educational records, schools must give parents and/or eligible students the chance to review the educational records within 45 days from the request to review. While the school is required to let a parent or student review the records, it doesn’t typically have to provide copies of the records unless a parent or student is unable to review the records in person.
CONSENT
As a general rule, FERPA requires that a parent or eligible student must provide written consent with either a handwritten or electronic signature before any school discloses any personally identifiable information from a student record. The consent must describe: 1) the records to be disclosed; 2) the purpose of the disclosure; and 3) the parties to receive the disclosure.
However, there are some exceptions to the disclosure requirement that balance the need for privacy with the practical requirements of the school. For example, information can be disclosed to school officials with legitimate educational interests. Disclosure is allowed to officials of another school system or school where the student seeks to enroll or has enrolled. Disclosure is also allowed when necessary to protect the health and safety of others. Furthermore, disclosure is allowed in compliance with a judicial order or subpoena.
Also, schools can disclose directory information without consent if they’ve given public notice and a reasonable opt-out time. Directory information may include a Student’s name, Address, Telephone number, and Email address. Schools must provide public notice about what they consider directory information and the process for opting out.
CORRECTIONS OR AMENDMENTS
Parents have the right under FERPA to request the amendment of a student’s education records. Any parent who believes that his child’s records contain information that is “inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the privacy rights of the student” may ask the district to amend the record or ask for a hearing to correct or amend the records.
This is an important aspect of ensuring accuracy and protecting student privacy. FERPA requires that the school must consider each request, inform the parent/student of the decision, and offer a hearing if the request is denied. After the hearing, if the amendment is still denied, the parent or student can add a statement to the record.
Please see the linked resources for more information:
