Published on April 15th, 2022
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal act protecting the educational records of students. It applies to all institutions receiving federal funding. While FERPA gives parents some rights over their child's information, these rights transfer to the student upon turning 18 years old. Students who are of age and have agency over their information are called “eligible students.” Parents and eligible students may request to review the information kept by their institution and can also formally request that records be amended. Generally, schools require the written permission of parents or eligible students, but there are some exceptions to this, such as to comply with a judicial order or for the purposes of an audit or evaluation.