The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), often called the Buckley Amendment, is a federal law enacted in 1984. It gives all parents of students under 18 years of age and all students over 18 years of age the right to see, correct, and control access to student records.

Any school that receives federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education must follow this law. Schools are required to establish written procedures to carry out this law and to notify parents of their rights annually.

Following is a summary of parental rights under FERPA:

1. The right to request a list of the types and locations of education records collected, maintained, and used by the school system (see sidebar below):
2. The right to know who has access to these records, including the names and positions of staff members.
3. The right to inspect and review all education records pertaining to your child. If the school district maintains education records that include the names of more than one child, parents have the right to view only information pertinent to their child. Records will be made available within ten school days, or within three school days if information is needed to plan for a due process hearing or a PPT meeting.
4. The right to have an explanation and interpretation of their child’s records.
5. The right to acquire one free copy of their child’s special education records. A nominal fee may be charged for additional copies. This request must be honored within five school days. A request for records needed to prepare for a PPT meeting must be copied within three school days.The school district may not charge a fee to search for or to retrieve information, and any fee charged may not effectively deny parents their rights to inspect and review education records.
6. The right to have an authorized representative inspect and review their child’s records.
7. The right to request an amendment to their child’s education records, if the parents consider information to be inaccurate, misleading or in violation of privacy. A request for an amendment must be in writing and will be acted upon within a reasonable period of time.
8. The right to a hearing, if the request to amend their child’s records is refused.
9. The right to place a statement in their child’s records, if the hearing officer decides against amending the information as requested. This statement will be maintained as long as their child’s record is maintained and will be disclosed whenever the confidential record is disclosed.
10. The right to be informed when the information in their child’s records is no longer useful, so they may request destruction of the information.

Educational records under FERPA are collected and maintained as follows:

This information is excerpted from Bringing Knowledge to the Table: How To Be An Effective Advocate for Your Child,^© 2013, by SPED*NET Wilton, Special Education Network of Wilton, www.spednetwilton.org. 

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