The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents/guardians and students over 18 years of age ("eligible students") certain rights with respect to the student's education records. They are:
(1) The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the district receives a request for access.
Parents/guardians or eligible students should submit to the school principal (or appropriate school official) a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The principal or appropriate school official will make arrangements for access and notify the parent/guardian or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
(2) The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the parent/guardian or eligible student believes are inaccurate or misleading or in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA.
Parents/guardians or eligible students who wish to ask the school district to amend a record should write the school principal, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it should be changed.
If the district decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent/guardian or eligible student, the district will notify the parent/guardian or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent/guardian or eligible student when notified of the right to a hearing.
(3) The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
One exception, which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the district as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel), or a person serving on the school board. A school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the school who performs an institutional service of function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of personally identifiable information from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist; a parent/guardian or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee or student assistance team, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.
A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
Upon request, the district discloses education records without consent to officials of another school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll, or is already enrolled if the disclosure is for purposes of the student’s enrollment or transfer. (Note: FERPA requires a school district to make a reasonable attempt to notify the parent/guardian or eligible student of the records request unless it states in its annual notification that it intends to forward records on request.)
(4) The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the district to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:
Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC, 20202-4605.
