The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to both public and private schools that receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education.
When the student is under 18 years of age, FERPA provides parents specific rights regarding their children’s education records, including rights to:

• Inspect and review their child’s school records.
• Request that the school corrects education records that parents believe to be inaccurate or misleading.
• Request a formal hearing if the school refuses to amend education records per their request.
• Include a statement with the education records in which parents describe their view about the contested information.

These rights transfer from parents to students when students reach age 18 or attend college.