What Does FERPA Stand For?

What does FERPA stand for, word by word?

• Family: the rights start with parents of students under 18.
• Educational: the law covers records kept by schools.
• Rights: it lists what families can demand.
• Privacy: it limits sharing without consent.
• Act: it is a law passed by Congress.

Notice that the R and the P come from "Rights and Privacy," with the small word "and" skipped. People say FERPA as one word, "FUR puh," which makes it an acronym and not an initialism. The law is sometimes called the Buckley Amendment after the senator who sponsored it.

The main rights FERPA gives families

1. The right to inspect records. Parents or eligible students can review the student's education records. The school must respond within 45 days of the request.
2. The right to ask for corrections. If a record is wrong or misleading, the family can ask the school to fix it. If the school says no, the family can request a hearing and add a written statement to the file.
3. The right to consent. In general, the school needs written permission before sharing personal information from the records with outsiders.

Education records include grades, transcripts, class schedules, disciplinary files and, for younger students, many health and special education files kept by the school. A teacher's private notes kept only for personal use are usually not counted.

When the rights pass to the student

FERPA rights belong to parents until the student turns 18 or starts attending a school beyond high school, at any age. At that point the student becomes an "eligible student" and the rights transfer to them.

That is why many colleges ask new students to fill out a FERPA waiver or proxy form if they want parents to see grades or billing information.

When schools can share records without consent

The law has a set of exceptions. Schools may share records without permission in situations such as these:

• With school officials who have a legitimate educational reason to see them
• With another school where the student plans to enroll
• In response to a court order or lawful subpoena
• In a health or safety emergency
• For certain audits, financial aid decisions and accreditation reviews

Schools may also release directory information, such as name, address, phone number, dates of attendance and sports participation, unless the family opts out. Each school must explain what it counts as directory information and how to opt out, usually in a yearly notice.

FERPA stands for school privacy, not health privacy

People often mix up FERPA and HIPAA. HIPAA covers health information held by doctors, hospitals and health insurers. Records kept by a school nurse in a K to 12 school are usually education records under FERPA instead. A visit to a private clinic is covered by HIPAA, even if the patient is a student.

FERPA also differs from the IEP process. An IEP is a plan for a student with a disability, and the plan itself is an education record protected by FERPA. For student aid forms, see FAFSA. You can find other federal laws and agencies under government acronyms.

Using the term in everyday school life

• "I can't discuss another student's grades with you because of FERPA."
• "Sign the FERPA release so your parents can see your bill."
• "The yearbook lists names under the directory information rule."
• "Teachers take FERPA training before they get access to the grade portal."

In these sentences, FERPA works as a short name for the whole set of rules about student records.