THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)

November 12, 2001

-----Original Message-----

From: Hawke

Get Access To Your Child's Educational Records

(Taken From: Is Your Child Getting Everything They Are Entitled To Under the

'99 IDEA Regulations, '97 IDEA Amendments, Appendix A, Section 504 and the

ADA Manual)

The second Congressional Response to all these federal special education

cases, and some other issues, was the Family Educational Rights and Privacy

Act in 1974. Congress recognized that parents could not get access to their

child's records, the evaluations the school was using, the notes teachers

were making, what was being " said " about the student in those files, and so

forth. An incredible mistake could be made about a student with a disability

and the parent would have no way of finding out about it, or correcting it.

FERPA establishes the rights of parents, and students over a certain age, to

have access to " all personally identifiable information collected,

maintained or used " by a school district in regard to that student. The

school must provide written notice to parents (and students over a certain

age) of all of their rights under FERPA. Write and ask your school where you

can get the notice of your rights under FERPA.

Some of the requirements of the FERPA Act are included in the IDEA but the

full statute at 20 U.S.C. 1232g, and the regulations at 34 C.F.R. 99, are

much more detailed and apply to all students, as well as students with

disabilities.

FERPA does not include any funding, but like Section 504, any recipient of

federal financial assistance (which certainly includes your state education

agency and your local school district) must follow FERPA or risk losing the

right to receive any other federal financial assistance.

There is clearly a private right of action for parents to take FERPA

violations into court (usually under 42 U.S.C. 1983) and cases have often

asked for money damages. Almost always the parent will have to first

" exhaust " their FERPA complaint through an IDEA " due process " hearing but

FERPA complaints can clearly be taken on into federal court.

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