The Policy Greenhouse

Source: FERPA United States Department of Education Page

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) provides parents with necessary and useful rights and abilities regarding their children’s schooling. One important ability granted by FERPA is the Parental right to strike inaccurate things from a student’s record such as behavioral incidents. FERPA also grants the schools rights regarding the safety of their students and the integrity of their institution. For example, schools may transfer educational records to the school where a student is transferring and also can work with the local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law which allows them to find and hand the pursuant over to the authorities. Overall, FERPA allows for a lot of give and take between the school and the parent, which effectively balances their power regarding the education and overall well being of a student.