Okay, so FERPA, right? family educational rights privacy . Its this thing – a law, actually – called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Basically, its all about protecting your kids education records! (Which is pretty important, if you ask me).
Think of it like this: your childs school keeps records on them, from grades to attendance to, like, maybe even disciplinary stuff. FERPA gives you, the parent, certain rights regarding those records.
Now, here's the thing, its not always you who gets these rights. When your child turns 18 – they become the "eligible student," and they get the rights under FERPA. So, if they dont want you seeing their college grades, well, they dont have to let you!
Schools also cant just go around sharing your childs information willy-nilly. They generally need your written consent before releasing it to a third party. There are, of course, exceptions. For example, they might share directory information (like name, address, phone number) unless youve specifically told them not to. Gotta pay attention to those forms at the beginning of the year, folks!
FERPA can be a little confusing, I aint gonna lie. But the important thing is knowing that you – or your now grown kiddo – have rights when it comes to their educational privacy. managed service new york If you ever have questions, dont be afraid to ask the school! They, like, should know this stuff.