FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT OF 1974

"A FEDERAL LAW DESIGNED TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF EDUCATION RECORDS AND TO ESTABLISH THE RIGHT OF STUDENTS TO INSPECT AND REVIEW THEIR EDUCATION RECORDS."

Family Policy Compliance Office ferpa@ed.gov

Congress enacted FERPA for the three main purposes shown in this slide. In this presentation, the first two purposes are covered. The third has not become a major factor in our study of FERPA. Although important to the overall understanding of the intent of Congress in protecting the privacy of education records and providing for corrections to erroneous information found in education records, the hearing process has not emerged as an important part of this legislation since there have not been that many hearings that have resulted from a FERPA complaint within an institution.

Throughout the presentation, certain terms will be highlighted in a different color. These terms/words appear in BOLDFACE in this black and white publication. For example, the term "EDUCATION RECORDS" in this slide is in red in the powerpoint presentation that was used to prepare this section of this presentation. The reader/participant should understand what these key terms/phrases/concepts are. THEY ARE IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING FERPA.