FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
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FERPA is the federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents the right to see and request corrections to them.
Topic: IDEA, law and procedure
In plain terms
FERPA applies to schools that receive federal education funds. Parents can review their child's education records, ask the school to amend records they believe are inaccurate, and must usually give written consent before records are shared outside the school, with some exceptions. When the student turns 18 or enrolls in college, these rights transfer to the student. IDEA adds its own confidentiality rules for special education records on top of FERPA.
How it shows up in an IEP
IEPs, evaluation reports, behavior data and progress notes are all education records. Teachers should store data sheets securely, share them only with staff who have a legitimate educational interest, and avoid using full student names in shared files or messages when initials or an ID will do.
Example
A parent asks to see all the behavior data behind a proposed change of placement. The school provides the ABC records and frequency graphs before the meeting, as both FERPA and IDEA expect.
The rule
Federal reference: 34 CFR §99.10, 34 CFR §300.613.
Related terms
- Procedural safeguardsProcedural safeguards are the rights IDEA gives parents and students, and the steps schools must follow, to keep special education decisions fair.
- Informed consentInformed consent is a parent's written, voluntary agreement to a specific school action after being fully told what it involves, and it can be revoked.
- IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)IDEA is the federal law that guarantees eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education and sets the rules for IEPs.
- Age of majorityThe age of majority is the age, set by state law and usually 18, at which a person is legally treated as an adult who makes their own decisions.
- Data sheetA data sheet is a form for recording a student's performance on an IEP goal in a consistent way each session.
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