What Is FERPA?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, commonly known as FERPA, is a federal law governing the privacy of educational records. It grants specific rights to students and sets restrictions on how schools may handle educational records.

FERPA requires that schools obtain written permission from students before releasing educational records. In certain well-defined circumstances, some information may be released without written permission from the student.

FERPA gives each student the following rights:

  • The right to see educational records the school is keeping on the student.
  • The right to seek amendment to those records
  • The right to consent to any disclosure of those records
  • The right to file a complaint with the FERPA office in Washington, D.C.