FERPA and Your Rights

Understanding FERPA: A Parent’s Guide

FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. It’s a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents important rights.

What FERPA Means for You

• You have the right to see your child’s education records.

• This includes grades, disciplinary files, special education records, and sometimes even digital communications if they’re kept by the school.

You decide who else can see them

• Schools generally need your written permission before sharing your child’s records with others (with a few legal exceptions).

• You can request corrections.

• If something in your child’s records is wrong or misleading, you have the right to ask the school to fix it.

Rights transfer to your child at age 18

• Once a student turns 18 or attends college, these rights belong to them.

Why It Matters

• FERPA ensures that schools are transparent and that parents stay in control of their child’s private information. It prevents sensitive records from being shared without permission and gives families the ability to track who has accessed them.

How to Use FERPA

• Ask your school or district office how to make a FERPA request.

• Be specific: request logs of who accessed records, when, and why.

• Keep copies of your requests and responses.

Learn More

For full details and official resources, visit the U.S. Department of Education’s site:

FERPA at studentprivacy.ed.gov

If you believe your child's rights have been violated or an educational entity is not being fully transparent about access to your child's data, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education here File a Complaint