FERPA
Q: I have been contacted by the parents of one of my students and been asked to forward to them a copy of their child's transcript and student file. Do I have the authority to access these files and forward them to a student's parents?
A: While a school official, including a member of the faculty, may have access to and obtain a copy of a student's education record for a legitimate educational interest, ordinarily the student's education record is confidential and cannot be viewed, accessed, or released without the student's explicit permission. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), also known as the Buckley Amendment, is a Federal law that limits the disclosure of a student's education record in order to safeguard the privacy of such information