Once a year, usually near the start of school, your district sends home a notice explaining your rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. It usually arrives in the same pile as the handbook, media release, technology agreement, and lunch forms, so it is easy to overlook.
FERPA gives parents three main rights: the right to see their child's education records, the right to ask that inaccurate records be corrected, and some control over who can access those records. Those rights transfer to the student when they turn 18 or enroll in a postsecondary school, whichever happens first. That can catch parents of high school students taking college courses by surprise.
Getting the file
Make the request in writing to the principal or district records office. Include your child's name, describe the records you want, and date the request. Under FERPA, the district has to provide access within a reasonable period and no later than 45 days after receiving it.
It can be worth asking for the complete education record rather than one specific document, since you may not know everything the school has kept. Records can include grades, attendance, discipline referrals, standardized test results, special education evaluations, behavior plans, school-maintained health records, and correspondence about your child between staff members. A teacher's private notes that are kept only as a personal memory aid generally are not covered, and neither are records maintained by a school's law enforcement unit for law enforcement purposes.
FERPA guarantees the right to inspect and review the records. It does not always require a district to give you copies, although many districts will. A school may also charge a reasonable copying fee as long as the cost does not effectively prevent you from exercising your rights. It cannot charge you for the time spent searching for or retrieving the records.
There are a couple of situations where having the file in hand can be especially useful. One is before a dispute or disciplinary meeting, when knowing exactly what the school has documented can change the conversation. Another is when your child changes schools. Having your own copy can help while you wait for the official transfer, particularly if your child has an IEP or 504 plan.
Fixing something that is wrong
If you find information that is inaccurate or misleading, you can ask the school to amend the record. Make the request in writing and explain what you believe is wrong. If the school refuses, it has to tell you and explain your right to a hearing.
That hearing takes place within the school or district rather than in court. The district can choose the hearing officer, but that person cannot have a direct interest in the outcome. If the district still refuses to change the record after the hearing, you have the right to add a written statement explaining your disagreement. That statement stays with the disputed record and must accompany it when that part of the file is disclosed.
FERPA is for records that are inaccurate, misleading, or violate a student's privacy rights. It is not a way to challenge a grade simply because you disagree with the teacher's judgment. If the teacher gave your child a B but the record shows a C, that is the kind of error FERPA can address. If the teacher gave a C and you believe the work deserved a B, that is a grading dispute and normally has to go through the school's regular appeal process.
Who else sees it
As a general rule, schools need written consent before disclosing personally identifiable information from a student's education records. There are several important exceptions.
Schools can share records with school officials who have a legitimate educational interest, a term the district explains in its annual FERPA notice. That group can include certain contractors and volunteers doing work for the school. Records can also be sent without consent to another school where the student is enrolling or transferring. Other exceptions cover health or safety emergencies, audits, accreditation, and certain court orders or subpoenas.
Another category is directory information. Districts can designate certain basic information as directory information and release it without getting permission each time. Depending on the district, that can include a student's name, address, phone number, date of birth, awards, activities, and photographs. The district has to tell families what it considers directory information and give them a chance to opt out.
Before opting out, check what the district's form actually covers. A broad opt-out can keep a child's information out of things such as yearbooks, playbills, team rosters, and published honor rolls. High schools also have separate obligations involving information requested by military recruiters. Some districts let families make more limited choices instead of opting out of every type of directory disclosure, so it is worth asking whether that option exists.
If a district does not respond to a records request or refuses to address a legitimate FERPA issue, complaints can be filed with the Student Privacy Policy Office at the U.S. Department of Education. Many disputes get resolved before reaching that point through the superintendent or school board, and our guide to getting something done at a school board meeting covers that process.
Sources
U.S. Department of Education Student Privacy Policy Office: What is FERPA?
U.S. Department of Education: A Parent Guide to FERPA
Inspection timeline, amendment, hearing, and directory information provisions from the FERPA regulations, 34 CFR Part 99.
