Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is designed to safeguard all student educational records, including information about immigration status. All colleges and universities receiving financial support from the U.S. Department of Education must abide by this law.

As part of FERPA, school officials must obtain expressed consent from eligible students or their parents to release information from the student's record except under certain circumstances, such as when the school is complying with a judicial order, state-issued subpoena, or requests from state or local juvenile justice authorities.

• Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

  • School officials with legitimate educational interest;
  • Other schools to which a student is transferring;
  • Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
  • Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
  • Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
  • Accrediting organizations;
  • To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena; 
  • Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
  • State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Edition 03/05/2025