By Audience: Parents and Students

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA provides certain rights for parents regarding their children’s education records. This guide provides general information on a parent’s rights under FERPA.

Schools across the nation are working hard to keep students, teachers, and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many schools are wondering whether the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows them to disclose information about cases of COVID-19 to the community. The Student Privacy Policy Office provided answers to these questions in our March 2020 guidance. Subsequent to issuing the guidance, we have seen reports that states, cities, school districts, and schools are continuing to face questions about disclosing COVID-19 cases.

The Department is committed to protecting student privacy. To provide more timely and effective assistance to parents and students and to address a recommendation made by the Department’s Office of the Inspector General to “implement a risk-based approach to processing and resolving FERPA complaints,”  the Department is modifying its investigatory practices to more efficiently address and resolve complaints and violations under FERPA.  

The administration of college admissions examinations by SEAs and LEAs raises potential legal issues under FERPA, IDEA, PPRA, and State privacy laws, and generally raises concerns about privacy best practices. In particular, the pre-test surveys administered in connection with these exams raised privacy concerns that SEAs and LEAs must consider when contracting with the testing companies. This document discusses the legal issues, and advises SEAs and LEAs about how to remain in compliance when administering the tests. The document also conveys best practice recommendations to encourage transparency and parental involvement.

This 2025 letter of finding sent to the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District addresses a parent’s complaint under FERPA regarding access to certain education records related to their student.

Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding the applicability of FERPA to the disclosure of personally identifiable information for students’ education records used to automatically enroll eligible children in the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer Program (Summer EBT). 

This letter is in response to an inquiry regarding the point at which a student is considered "in attendance" for the purposes of FERPA.

La Oficina de Políticas de Privacidad de los Estudiantes (SPPO) se complace en anunciar el lanzamiento de una nueva página inicial en español, la cual brinda recursos y mejores prácticas de privacidad de los estudiantes en español. El hacer que esta información esté disponible en español ayudará a garantizar que más comunidades puedan entender el tema de mejor manera y que se involucren en conversaciones acerca de las leyes y políticas de privacidad de los estudiantes. Visite nuestra página inicial en español para más información.

SPPO is pleased to announce the launch of a new Spanish Language Home Page, which provides student privacy resources and best practices in Spanish. Making this information available in Spanish will help to ensure that more communities can meaningfully understand and engage in discussion about student privacy laws and policies. Visit our Spanish Language Home Page to learn more.

Letter to Westlake City School Regarding Questions on Classroom Activities and Honor Roll Recognition.