FERPA and Student Privacy

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law administered by the Family Policy Compliance Office in the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA applies to all educational agencies and institutions that receive funding under any program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. This includes all public educational institutions and most postsecondary private institutions.

Once a student reaches 18 years of age or attends a postsecondary institution, they become an "eligible student." All rights formerly given to parents and guardians under FERPA then transfer to the eligible student. These rights include the right to have access to his or her education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, the right to have control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the records, and the right to file a complaint with the Department.

Due to FERPA, student information cannot be shared with anyone besides the student with whom it concerns. 

To learn more about FERPA visit the website of the Family Policy Compliance Office and the FERPA for Parents PDF.