The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects students. Also known as the Buckley Amendment, this law gives students four rights.

1. The right to inspect and review education records.
2. The right to seek the amendment of education records.
3. The right to consent to the disclosure of education records.
4. The right to file a complaint with the FERPA Office in Washington, D.C.

Students are notified of their rights each year by publication in the college catalog. The policy is also published in the catalog on the college and district websites.

Take a look around your work area.
What information do you have which may need to be handled in a secure way? For example:

Under FERPA what student information can you disclose and to whom?

This overview will help answer this important question. The consequences of how we handle, or mishandle, student information are significant.