Superintendents and state education leaders were sternly reminded late Friday about the need to comply with FERPA and other laws covering student privacy and parents’ rights.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s latest Dear Colleague Letter reminds districts of their obligations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.
The directive comes during the same week her department launched investigations into laws in California and Maine that prohibit school personnel from disclosing a child’s gender identity to parents. The agency in recent weeks has also been aggressively investigating what it considers potential Title IX violations where males have allegedly been allowed to participate in girls’ sports.
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“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,” McMahon said Friday.
“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,” she added.
The letter contends districts and students are creating “gender plans” and hiding these plans from parents by declaring that they are not official education records covered by FERPA. The agency also accuses districts of not notifying parents of their rights under FERPA.
McMahon acknowledged that FERPA does not oblige school officials to inform parents about any student information. But, she noted, the law does allow parents to request and review their child’s education records. FERPA does not distinguish between an “official student record” and a “cumulative file,” which means parents should be able to see any information a school collects about a student.
The Dear Colleague Letter has ordered state education departments to provide “assurance” by April 30 that school districts and other local education agencies are complying with FERPA and PPRA.
“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,” McMahon concluded.
