Educational Rights
Educational rights are the rights of a "parent," "adoptive parent," "guardian," or another court-appointed individual to make educational decisions on behalf of a minor child.
The district's Annual Notification and data confirmation processes outline the definitions and practices related to parent and student rights and responsibilities including consent to participate in programs.
Education Rights for 18-Year-Old Students
Education Rights for 18-Year-Old Students ![]()
Education Rights for 18-Year-Old Students
When a student turns 18 years old or enters a post-secondary institution at any age, the rights formerly given to parents under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student (“eligible student”). The FERPA statute is found at 20 U.S.C. §1232g and the FERPA regulations are found at 34 CFR Part 99. The eligible student has the right to have access to education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, the right to have control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the records, and the right to file a complaint with the US Department of Education.
Although the rights under FERPA have been given to the student, a school may still disclose some information from an eligible student’s education records to the parents of the student, without the student’s consent, if the student is a dependent for tax purposes. Neither the age of the student nor the parent’s status as a custodial parent is relevant. If a student is claimed as a dependent by either parent for tax purposes, then either parent may have access under this provision. (34 CFR § 99.31(a)(8)
In an effort to keep parents fully informed in all aspects of their 18-year-old student’s status, adult students may authorize the further exchange of health & educational information with parents by signing an authorization form and submitting it to the school. All signed authorizations may be returned to the school registrar.
