What rights does the mother of my grandson have to his school records if we have guardianship?
Full Question:
Answer:
The Family Educational Records Protection Act (FERPA) was originally passed in 1976 and has been amended many times since. Its purpose is to guarantee parents free access to student school records. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) defines parent as a natural or adoptive parent, a legal guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of the parent or guardian. The rights under FERPA transfer to the student (“eligible student”) when he or she reaches 18 or attends a postsecondary education institution at any age.
Under provisions of the Act, the Secretary of Education has the authority to withhold all federal funding to institutions that do not make school records available to a student's parents. There are exceptions to this rule, such as authorizing the transfer of transcripts when a student changes schools or applies for admission elsewhere, for researchers doing studies of educational techniques and practices when such research can be conducted confidentially and anonymously, for state or federal officials conducting audits of public assistance programs, or in the course of normal business. Many states now rely on FERPA to protect student privacy and insure parental access
The following are MI statutes:
600.2165 Disclosure of students' records or communications by school
teacher or employee.
Sec. 2165.
No teacher, guidance officer, school executive or other
professional person engaged in character building in the public schools or
in any other educational institution, including any clerical worker of
such schools and institutions, who maintains records of students'
behavior or who has records in his custody, or who receives in confidence
communications from students or other juveniles, shall be allowed in any
proceedings, civil or criminal, in any court of this state, to disclose
any information obtained by him from the records or such communications;
nor to produce records or transcript thereof, except that testimony may
be given, with the consent of the person so confiding or to whom the
records relate, if the person is 18 years of age or over, or, if the
person is a minor, with the consent of his or her parent or legal
guardian.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) as amended, is a federal law (20 U.S.C. 1232g) that protects the privacy of a student's educational record. FERPA applies to all educational institutions receiving funds from the United States Department of Education. Michigan Tech makes every effort to comply with FERPA, as outlined in the Disclosure and Release of Student Information policy.
The U.S. Department of Education summarizes the rights afforded to students by FERPA as follows:
The right to review their educational records within forty-five days from their request
The right to request amendment to records they believe to be inaccurate
The right to limit disclosure of some personally identifiable information known as directory information
The right to file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office in Washington, DC, if they feel their FERPA rights have been violated
FERPA requires universities to provide students with annual notification of these rights. Michigan Tech's annual notification appears in the Undergraduate Catalog. Students also receive notification of these rights via email. Students who suspect that a FERPA violation has occurred should contact the University Registrar (Administration Building; 906 487-2936), or they can contact the Family Policy Compliance Office within the US Department of Education.