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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
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, rights derived from FERPA vest in the student, regardless of age, and to the parents of an dependent student. A "student' is defined as a person who attends an educational institution and with respect to whom the institution maintains educational records or personally identifiable information. A student has the right to review his or her record and to consent to the release of such a record to a third party. A student also has the right to challenge information in his or her record. As defined by FERPA, an "education record" is any material that contains information directly related to a student and is maintained by an educational institution or someone acting on its behalf. Unless specifically advised to the contrary by a student, certain information, referred to as "directory information", may be released and made public without a student's permission. Directory information consists of such items as (1) the name, address and telephone number of a student, (2) the date and place of birth, (3) the student's majority field of study, (4) the dates of attendance at the educational institution, (5) the degrees and awards received, (6) participation in officially recognized activities and sports, (7) weight and height of members of athletic teams, and (8) the most recent or previous educational agency or institution attended. Officials at an educational institution with a legitimate educational interest in a student's record may have access to it without the student's permission. Other limited exceptions allow for the release of a student's education record without his or her consent.
