Dear FERPA Professor,
I have an important question regarding FERPA. It was brought up in a meeting at a previous conference that institutions are required to have written authorization from the student to allow the college to talk about their educational record – if they bring someone with them (such as a parent) to an on-campus appointment (such as meeting with an Academic Advisor).
Thank you for your time.
Ms. Binde
Dear Ms. Binde,
§ 99.30 of the FERPA regulations requires that an eligible student provide a signed, dated, written consent prior to information from the student’s education records being disclosed, unless the conditions of one of the exceptions to signed consent found at § 99.31 are met. In the example you provide, one of the exceptions, § 99.31(a)(8), could possibly apply. This exception permits the disclosure of information from a student’s education record to the parent(s) if the student is claimed on the parent’s Federal tax return. Absent such documentation, then a signed consent from the student would be required prior to information from education records being shared with any party (parents, spouse, family member, etc.) other than the school official.
I hope this is helpful in answering your questions. You can find the above-cited regulations on pages 159 and 161 of the 2012 AACRAO FERPA Guide.
The FERPA Professor
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