FERPA and College: What Parents Can and Cannot Access
One of the most common frustrations parents experience during a college disciplinary or Title IX process is discovering that the school will not share information with them.
In many cases, the reason is FERPA: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. FERPA is the federal law that governs how colleges and universities handle student educational records. Once a student enrolls in college, FERPA generally gives the privacy rights to the student, not the parent.
That surprises many families, especially those who were closely involved in their student's education through high school.
How FERPA Changes After High School
In K-12 education, FERPA rights generally belong to the parent. Parents can access records, communicate with the school about their child, and participate in educational decisions.
When a student enrolls in a college or university, those rights transfer to the student. This happens regardless of the student's age. A 17-year-old college student has FERPA rights that belong to the student, not the parent.
That means the college cannot share grades, conduct records, financial aid details, or other educational records with a parent unless the student has authorized it or a specific exception applies.
What FERPA Covers
FERPA applies to "educational records," which is a broad category. It generally includes grades and transcripts, conduct and disciplinary records, financial aid records, enrollment and registration information, disability services records, and most other records the institution maintains about the student.
FERPA does not typically cover records maintained by campus law enforcement for law enforcement purposes, medical treatment records, or certain peer-graded work before it is collected by an instructor.
Students Can Authorize Parental Access
FERPA does not prevent students from sharing their own records with their parents. It restricts what the institution can disclose without the student's consent.
Students can sign a FERPA release authorizing the college to share specific categories of information with a parent or other designated person. Many schools have a form for this, often available through the registrar's office or student accounts portal.
A FERPA release can be broad or narrow. A student can authorize access to grades only, or to grades and conduct records, or to all educational records. The student controls the scope.
Families who want to be able to communicate with the institution during a disciplinary or accommodation process should set up a FERPA release early, ideally before a problem arises.
FERPA During a Disciplinary or Title IX Process
FERPA creates practical challenges during disciplinary and Title IX cases. A parent may call the dean of students or the Title IX office and be told that the office cannot discuss the matter without the student's authorization.
This is not the school being difficult. It is the school following federal law.
If the student has signed a FERPA release covering conduct records, the school may be able to share some information with the parent. If not, the parent's access to information about the case depends on what the student chooses to share directly.
This is one reason why having a FERPA release in place before a crisis makes a meaningful difference. When a problem arises, families already have the ability to communicate with the institution rather than scrambling to set up authorization during a stressful and time-sensitive situation.
Exceptions to FERPA
There are limited exceptions where a college may disclose information to a parent without the student's consent. These include situations involving a health or safety emergency, when the student is a dependent for federal tax purposes (though schools vary in how they apply this), and certain disclosures related to drug or alcohol violations for students under 21.
These exceptions are narrow. In practice, most routine communication about a student's disciplinary or academic situation requires either the student's consent or a signed FERPA release.
What Families Should Do
The practical takeaway is straightforward. Before the first semester of college, families should have a conversation about FERPA and consider setting up a release so the parent can communicate with the school if needed.
A FERPA release does not give the parent the right to make decisions for the student. The student remains the person the institution communicates with and the person responsible for the process. But having a release in place means the parent can access information and support the student more effectively if something comes up.
