Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
About the Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA; (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 C.F.R. § 99) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the records. When a student turns 18 years old, or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student (“eligible student”).
Under the McKinney-Vento Act, information about the living situation of a child or youth experiencing homelessness shall be treated as a student education record, and shall not be deemed to be directory information [42 U.S.C. § 11432(g)3)(G)].
Legislation
- View the full text of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (PDF)
- View the full text of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (HTML)
Regulations and Guidance
- View the full text of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Regulations
- Download the U.S. Department of Education's A Parent Guide to FERPA (in English | en español)
- Download the U.S. Department of Education’s An Eligible Student Guide to FERPA
- View the U.S. Department of Education’s Forum Guide to the Privacy of Student Information: A Resource for Schools
- View the U.S. Department of Education’s Privacy and Datasharing webpage
- Download the U.S. Department of Education’s Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services: Requirements and Best Practices