---
title: 'FERPA: Protecting your child’s records'
description: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that gives parents protections for their children. Find out what your rights are.
slug: ferpa-protecting-your-childs-records
author: Andrew M.I. Lee, JD
reviewer: Patricia H. Latham, JD
published: '2019-08-05T15:57:16.595Z'
thumbnail: https://cdn-images.understood.org/p0qf7j048i0q/2BD72877923A4C7EAB8529A5EFAE38D8/2c7c11b97dff497b4bf1850bb8336885/175016380.jpg
source_url: https://www.understood.org/en/articles/ferpa-protecting-your-childs-records
lang: en
---

# FERPA: Protecting your child’s records

The school keeps a lot of records about your child — report cards, disciplinary actions, test results, and other information. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects your rights to:

- See your child’s educational records
- Request corrections to the records
- Decide who else can see the records

You also can authorize someone else, such as a lawyer, to review records for you.

But the law doesn’t stop there. Under FERPA, you have additional rights:

- You have the right to see your child’s records within 45 days of when the school receives your request to see them.
- You have the right to get a photocopy of your child’s educational records if it’s not possible for you to review them at the school. (The school may charge for copies.)
- You have the right to ask the school to correct any record you think is inaccurate or misleading. If the school doesn’t correct the record, you have the right to a formal hearing.
- If the record still hasn’t been corrected after the hearing, you have the right to put a statement in the record. The statement gives your take on the information that was disputed.

## The limitations of FERPA

Sometimes the school *is* allowed to release your child’s records without your consent. Under FERPA, schools can release records without your permission to certain types of parties, including:

- School officials with a legitimate educational interest (for example, an academic advisor who needs to review what courses a student has completed in order to give advice)
- A school your child is transferring to
- Appropriate officials in health and safety emergencies
- Juvenile justice system authorities

Also, FERPA only applies to schools that receive certain kinds of federal funding. If your child attends a private school that doesn’t receive that funding, your child wouldn’t have FERPA protections.

## What happens when your child turns 18?

- When your child starts college or turns 18, all of the rights you had under FERPA now belong to your child.
- Because of FERPA, colleges sometimes can’t release educational records to parents unless the student gives written consent first.
- FERPA doesn’t close out parents completely. If you claim your child as a dependent on your tax return, the school may share your child’s educational records with you — without your child’s written consent.
- FERPA grants important legal rights to parents and children. Understanding more about [which laws do what](https://www.understood.org/en/articles/at-a-glance-which-laws-do-what) can help you continue to advocate for your child.

---

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