This report provides an overview of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as well as a discussion of several court cases that have clarified the statute's requirements. Such students shall not have access to their parents' financial records. These exceptions to FERPA's general prohibition against nonconsensual disclosure of educational records are described in detail below, as are controversial 2011 regulations that, among other things, permit educational agencies and institutions to disclose personally identifiable information to third parties under limited circumstances. The 2011 Regulations

In 2011, ED issued a final rule amending the FERPA regulations. The new regulations make a number of changes, including, but not limited to
permitting educational agencies and institutions to disclose personally identifiable information to authorized third parties for purposes of conducting audits or evaluations of federal- or state-supported education programs or enforcing compliance with federal requirements related to such programs; allowing student identification numbers to be designated as directory information for purposes of display on a student identification card or badge; and adding new enforcement mechanisms for violations of the act.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 guarantees parental access to student education records, while limiting the disclosure of those records to third parties. The act, sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment, was designed to address parents' growing concerns over privacy and the belief that parents should have the right to learn about the information schools were using to make decisions concerning their children.
No substantial legislative changes have been made to FERPA since 2001, but in 2011, the Department of Education (ED) issued controversial new regulations that, among other things, permit educational agencies and institutions to disclose personally identifiable information to third parties for purposes of conducting audits or evaluations of federal- or state-supported education programs. These regulations are discussed below, as is a recently dismissed lawsuit challenging ED's new rules.