FERPA Request Letter Generator

What FERPA lets parents and students do

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act gives parents, and students once the rights pass to them, three main tools. You can inspect and review the student's education records (34 CFR 99.10(a)). You can ask the school to amend a record you believe is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's privacy rights, with a hearing if it refuses (34 CFR 99.20(a), 34 CFR 99.21(a)). And, outside listed exceptions, the school needs signed and dated written consent before it discloses personally identifiable information from those records (34 CFR 99.30(a)).

The rights belong to the parent until the student becomes an "eligible student": one who has reached 18 or attends a postsecondary institution (34 CFR 99.3). At that point they transfer to the student (34 CFR 99.5(a)(1)). Either parent keeps full rights after a divorce or separation unless the school has a court order, state law or other legally binding document that specifically revokes them (34 CFR 99.4).

"Education records" means records directly related to the student and maintained by the school or someone acting for it (34 CFR 99.3 (education records (a))). A few kinds are excluded, including a teacher's private memory-aid notes, records of a school's law enforcement unit, and treatment records of students who are 18 or in college (34 CFR 99.3 (education records (b)(1)), 34 CFR 99.3 (education records (b)(2)), 34 CFR 99.3 (education records (b)(4))).

How long a school has to give you records, by state

Under FERPA a school must comply with a request for access within a reasonable period of time, and never more than 45 days after it receives the request (34 CFR 99.10(b)). It may not destroy records while a request is outstanding (34 CFR 99.10(e)), and it must answer reasonable requests to explain the records (34 CFR 99.10(c)).

State law can be stricter. By the data on this page, 13 states set a shorter deadline for K-12 schools (California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and West Virginia); the state rules we found all cover K-12 schools, and we did not survey state laws for colleges, so for a college the deadline we can confirm is FERPA's 45 days (a public college may also be subject to state public-records or university rules). In all, 33 of 51 jurisdictions have a statute or state rule that adds something to FERPA's access or correction rights; for 18 we found none, so FERPA alone applies. The generator uses the shorter state clock where it covers your kind of school and the person writing. In Idaho, Louisiana and Michigan, the shorter deadline is a parent's right; an adult student there relies on FERPA's 45 days.

Copies are a common sticking point. FERPA requires a school to give copies only when circumstances effectively prevent you from inspecting the records (34 CFR 99.10(d)); Department of Education guidance gives living too far away as an example, and the school may instead make other arrangements for you to inspect them. A school may charge for copies unless the fee would effectively prevent access, but it may not charge to search for or retrieve the records (34 CFR 99.11(a), 34 CFR 99.11(b)). Some states give a firmer right to copies; each state page says what it found.

The table lists every state, grouped by Census region. Each state page shows the full rule with its source.

Correcting a record: requests, hearings and statements

A correction request must explain what in the record is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's privacy rights. The school decides within a reasonable time; if it refuses, it must tell you of the decision and of your right to a hearing (34 CFR 99.20(b), 34 CFR 99.20(c)). FERPA sets no fixed number of days for either step.

The hearing may be run by any individual, even a school official, who has no direct interest in the outcome. You get a full and fair chance to present evidence and may bring anyone you choose, including a lawyer at your own expense, and the written decision must rest solely on the evidence presented (34 CFR 99.22(c), 34 CFR 99.22(d), 34 CFR 99.22(e)-(f)). If the school still will not change the record, you may add a statement explaining why you disagree, and the school must keep it with the contested part of the record and disclose it whenever that part is disclosed (34 CFR 99.21(b)(2), 34 CFR 99.21(c)).

What the process does not cover: the Department of Education's privacy office has said FERPA's amendment right cannot be used to challenge a grade, an evaluation or another substantive decision unless it was recorded inaccurately (Department of Education guidance letter, August 13, 2004). That is guidance rather than a regulation; for a grade dispute, use the school's own appeal process. 10 states add their own correction procedure, shown on their state pages.

Release forms and directory information

A FERPA release form is the written consent the school needs before sharing records outside the exceptions. It must be signed and dated, and it must specify the records, state the purpose of the disclosure, and identify who may receive them (34 CFR 99.30(a), 34 CFR 99.30(b)). An electronic signature can count if it identifies and authenticates the person (34 CFR 99.30(d)). The generator's release mode produces a form with each of those elements; many colleges also have their own form.

Directory information is different. It is information that would not generally be considered harmful if disclosed, such as a name or dates of attendance (34 CFR 99.3), and a school may release it without consent only after giving public notice of the categories and of the time you have to opt out in writing (34 CFR 99.37(a)). An opt-out cannot stop the school from disclosing the student's name, identifier or school email address inside a class the student attends (34 CFR 99.37(c)).

College students and their parents

Once a student is in college, FERPA rights are the student's, whatever the student's age. A college may still share records with parents without the student's consent in a few situations: when the student is the parents' tax dependent (34 CFR 99.31(a)(8)), in a health or safety emergency (34 CFR 99.36(a)), and, for a student under 21, after it finds an alcohol or drug violation of its rules (34 CFR 99.31(a)(15)). Those exceptions allow disclosure; they do not require it.

Two limits apply only at colleges: a college need not let a student see the parents' financial records, or confidential letters of recommendation the student waived the right to see (34 CFR 99.12(b)(1), 34 CFR 99.12(b)(2)-(3), (c)). The usual way for parents to see a college student's records is a release signed by the student, which the generator's release mode produces.

Special education records

For a child in special education, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act adds a stricter clock: the school must comply without unnecessary delay and before any IEP meeting, due process hearing or resolution session, and in no case more than 45 days after the request (34 CFR 300.613(a)). Parents may also have a representative inspect the records (34 CFR 300.613(b)(3)), and IDEA uses the same correction and hearing steps as FERPA (34 CFR 300.619-300.621). Choose "special education records" in the generator to add the IDEA language.

If the school does not respond

If a school does not respond, the U.S. Department of Education's Student Privacy Policy Office takes complaints from parents and eligible students. A complaint must give specific facts and should be filed within 180 days of the alleged violation or of when you knew or reasonably should have known of it; the office can extend that for good cause (34 CFR 99.64(c), 34 CFR 99.64(d)). The office's complaint page provides the form, which can be emailed or mailed. Contacting the school first is encouraged but not required for a FERPA complaint (Student Privacy Policy Office).

FERPA itself does not let you sue the school: the Supreme Court held that its privacy provisions create no rights enforceable in a private lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 (Gonzaga Univ. v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273 (2002)). The remedy runs through the Department. Some state student-records laws provide their own complaint route; the state pages list the state education agency where we found one.

FERPA covers schools that receive funds under a Department of Education program (34 CFR 99.1(a)), which takes in public schools and nearly every college, since federal student aid counts (34 CFR 99.1(c)(2)). Most private K-12 schools receive no such funds and are generally not covered (Student Privacy Policy Office). School health records kept as education records are covered by FERPA rather than the HIPAA Privacy Rule (45 CFR 160.103 (protected health information (2))).