FERPA parent rights are back in the spotlight this school year. On August 26, the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office sent a back to school letter to schools that receive federal funding, reminding them of their duties under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, known as PPRA. The message to schools was simple: parents are entitled to see what is in their child’s file and to decide about certain surveys before their child takes them.

Whatever you think of the politics around this announcement, the rights it describes belong to every parent. For Black families, whose children are too often written up, labeled, or misread by the systems around them, knowing how to see and correct a school record is a practical tool worth using this fall.

What the Education Department Told Schools

The letter itself, signed by Student Privacy Policy Office director Frank E. Miller Jr., makes several points parents can lean on. Schools cannot sidestep FERPA by calling a document an unofficial file. Information that is directly related to a student and kept by the school counts as an education record that parents can inspect. Schools must also tell parents about their rights each year, through the handbook, a newsletter, the school calendar, or a prominent spot on the school website.

The letter also says schools must get written parental consent before giving surveys that ask about any of eight protected areas, and that an opt out form is not a substitute for consent. It applies that rule to mental health screening tools that probe a student’s emotional or psychological state. On technology, it says student information can be shared with online education services only in ways that comply with FERPA, with the school keeping direct control over how vendors use the records.

The same announcement highlighted the Department’s first statewide FERPA violation finding, against the California Department of Education over student gender support plans that federal officials said were hidden from parents. A national association of regional education agencies summarized the update on August 31 alongside new federal guidance on responsible use of classroom technology.

Why School Records Matter So Much for Black Students

A student file is more than report cards. It can hold discipline referrals, attendance notes, special education evaluations, counselor notes, and test results. Those entries can shape how teachers, counselors, and future schools see a child.

Federal data shows why Black parents should look closely. In the 2020-21 school year, Black boys made up 8 percent of K-12 students but 18 percent of students who received one or more out of school suspensions, according to the Education Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection report on discipline. Black girls were 7 percent of students and 9 percent of those suspended. When discipline is handed out unevenly, the paperwork that follows is worth checking line by line.

Your FERPA Rights, Step by Step

You can see the records

The Department’s FERPA regulations require a school to give you access within a reasonable time and no later than 45 days after it receives your request. A school may charge for copies, but it cannot charge you to search for or retrieve the records, and a copy fee cannot be used to block your access.

You can challenge what is wrong

If a record is inaccurate or misleading, you can ask the school to amend it. If the school says no, it must tell you and explain your right to a hearing. If the hearing does not go your way, you can place your own written statement in the file commenting on the information you dispute.

You can limit directory information

Schools can designate certain basic details as directory information and release them without asking first. Parents have the right to refuse to let the school treat any or all of those details as directory information, so ask for the opt out form early in the year.

The rights shift at 18

Once a student turns 18 or enrolls in college, FERPA rights move from the parent to the student. If you have a senior, now is a good time to review the file together.

Surveys, Screenings, and Classroom Materials

PPRA covers surveys that ask about political beliefs, mental or psychological problems, sexual behavior or attitudes, illegal or demeaning behavior, critical appraisals of close family members, privileged relationships such as those with doctors or ministers, religious practices, and income beyond what a program needs to check eligibility. The August 26 letter says schools need your written consent before students answer those questions. Parents also have the right to inspect instructional materials used in their child’s curriculum, though academic tests are excluded.

This matters as schools add more apps and AI tools. Our earlier guide to AI in the classroom for Black parents lists questions to ask about the technology your child uses and the data it collects.

What to Do Next

Put your request in writing, by email if possible, so there is a dated record. A short note works: name your child, list the school, say you are requesting to inspect and review all education records under FERPA, and ask for copies of discipline, attendance, and evaluation records.

Mark your calendar 45 days out. Review every discipline entry against what you know happened, and send a written amendment request for anything that is wrong. Find this year’s annual notice of rights in the student handbook or on the school website. If it is missing, ask for it.

If the school will not cooperate, you can file a complaint with the Student Privacy Policy Office within 180 days of the violation or of when you learned about it. FERPA complaints go to [email protected] and PPRA complaints to [email protected]. For PPRA issues, you must first contact the school to try to resolve the problem. For FERPA issues, the Department strongly encourages it.

A file can follow a child for years. Checking it takes an email and some patience, and it puts you where you belong in your child’s education: informed and in the room.