Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

[See POLICY ALERT No. 175]

Policy 8335 

The Board of Education policies and regulations will be in compliance with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  FERPA affords parents and adult students certain rights with respect to the student’s education records.  FERPA requires the district to provide parents and adult students the right to inspect and review the student’s education records within forty-five days of the day the school district receives a request for access, to request an amendment(s) of the student’s education records the parent or adult student believes are inaccurate, and to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

FERPA permits disclosure of student records without consent if the disclosure is to school officials with legitimate educational interests.  FERPA permits the school district to disclose education records without a parent’s or adult student’s consent to officials of another school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.  FERPA requires a school district to make a reasonable attempt to notify the parent or adult student of the records request unless it states in its annual notification that it intends to forward records on request.

The parent or adult student has the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the district to comply with the requirements of FERPA.  The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is: 

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC  20202-5901 

The New Jersey Administrative Code 6A:32-7 – Pupil Records adopted by the New Jersey Department of Education incorporates the requirements of FERPA and Board of Education Policy 8330 ensures parents and adult students are afforded certain rights with respect to the student’s education records as required by FERPA.

20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g. – The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7