What is FERPA and what rights does it grant students?

• A. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects student education records; students may access records, request amendments, and control disclosures with consent except in certain permitted circumstances
• B. FERPA is a code of student conduct
• C. FERPA requires universities to publish all student records
• D. FERPA allows students to modify grades

Answer: (A)

FERPA protects the privacy of student education records and gives students three main rights: the ability to inspect and review their own records; the right to request amendments if a record is inaccurate or misleading; and the right to control disclosures of information from those records, typically requiring the student’s consent (with certain permitted exceptions). This means schools must inform students of their rights, honor access requests within a reasonable time, and allow corrections while allowing the school to share information without consent only in specific, allowed circumstances (such as directory information or safety concerns). It’s not a code of conduct, it doesn’t require publishing all records, and it doesn’t grant the right to modify grades.