FERPA and "Inaccurate Information"

Thursday, April 24, 2008
Contributed by: Andrea L. Slater Gulley

In Letter to Anonymous, the Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) clarified some of the rights that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act affords parents regarding the amendment of information in student records. Letter to Anonymous, 11 FAB 6 (January 9, 2007).

The letter involved a situation wherein parents wanted a school to change comments in their child's report card. More specifically, for example, the parents wanted the teacher's written comment that the student "kick[ed] and [hit] someone because he was mad at them" to be replaced with "picking on others." After making the request to the teacher and being denied the change, the parents appealed to the administration and the school board, and ultimately sought clarification from the FPCO.

The FPCO sided with the school district, holding that "while FERPA affords parents the right to seek to amend education records which contain inaccurate information, this right cannot be used to challenge a grade or an individual's opinion, unless the grade or opinion has been inaccurately recorded. FERPA is not intended to be a vehicle for appeals of decisions about a student or a student's status, nor is it intended to interfere with decisions made by a school regarding what types of records or information it believes it should maintain."

This column is published for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to create an attorney client relationship. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's law firm or its individual partners.