Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) sent a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) to Chief State School Officers and Superintendents at educational institutions receiving federal funding notifying them of their compliance obligations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). Compliance with these laws means that schools must allow parents to review all education records of their student, including any document related to a student’s “gender identity.”
“Parents are the most natural protectors of their children. Yet many states and school districts have enacted policies that imply students need protection from their parents,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “These states and school districts have turned the concept of privacy on its head—prioritizing the privileges of government officials over the rights of parents and wellbeing of families. Going forward, the correct application of FERPA will be to empower all parents to protect their children from the radical ideologies that have taken over many schools.”
This DCL, under a cover letter from Secretary McMahon, comes amid rampant reports that state educational agencies (SEAs) and their respective local educational agencies (LEAs) have policies and practices which violate parental privacy laws by hiding critical information, such as a child’s “gender transition,” from parents about their child’s mental and physical wellbeing and safety.
In addition to notifying recipients of their legal obligations, the DCL outlines SPPO’s “priority concerns.” SPPO is working closely with the Department’s Office of the Secretary to consider proactive measures to address these priority concerns, which includes, but is not limited to:
- Ensuring parental rights to inspect and review education records. It appears that many SEAs and LEAs have practices that conflict with the inspect and review provisions afforded to parents under FERPA. For example, schools often create “Gender Plans” for students and assert that these plans are not “education records” under FERPA, and therefore inaccessible to the parent. All information, with certain statutory exceptions, that is directly related to a student would be considered part of the student’s “education records” to which parents have a right to inspect and review.
- Ensuring parents receive annual notification of rights. It appears that many SEAs and LEAs are not properly notifying parents and eligible students of their rights under FERPA. A school must provide regular notice to inform parents of their rights.
The DCL specifies that SPPO requests that each SEA submit no later than April 30, 2025, documentation to provide assurance that the SEA and their respective LEAs are complying with FERPA and PPRA, specifically in regard to the priority concerns.
Background:
FERPA and PPRA are federal privacy laws enforced by the Department's SPPO. FERPA gives parents the right to access their children’s education records, the right to request record corrections or amendments, and the right to control (with important exceptions) disclosure of personally identifiable information in education records. PPRA gives parents notice and opt-out rights when a school administers surveys or questionnaires asking students for certain sensitive, private information about students and their families.
Secretary McMahon instructed SPPO to open FERPA investigations into the California Department of Education on Thursday and the Maine Department of Education earlier today, amid allegations that these states have violated FERPA by establishing policies to prohibit parents from accessing records relating to their child’s “gender transition.” Federal laws like FERPA and PPRA preempt state laws.
Secretary McMahon also directed the Department to prioritize clearing the backlog of FERPA complains accumulated under the Biden Administration.
Institutions that fail to comply with FERPA and PPRA may, consistent with applicable law, face investigation and loss of federal funding.