The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act or FERPA (the Buckley Amendment) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA defines students’ rights broadly, giving the student the right to control to whom their education record is released. Broadly, FERPA:
- Establishes the rights of students to inspect and review their education records,
- Provides students the right to control the release of education records to third parties without permission of the student,
- Provides guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data through formal and informal hearings.
- Provides students the right to file complaints with the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the institution to comply with the Act.
The University System's FERPA-related policies are in the Students Right, Rules, and Responsibilities published each fall by the University.
