Teacher field guide
Education law
Who gets to see your school records?
If your family helps pay for school, what are they allowed to see?
Grades, schedules and discipline records follow students for years, and the rules about who can see them change at 18 or when a student starts college. Knowing which record, which permission and which office to ask keeps family support from turning into giving away every login.
What students make
Illustrated card, 4–6 sentences
The civic idea
Words that do the work.
- FERPALey FERPA
A federal law giving parents, and later students, rights over education records at schools that receive U.S. Department of Education funds.
Rafa is 18 and in college, so under the general rule the FERPA rights are his, not his parents’.
- Education recordExpediente educativo
A record directly about a student that the school, or someone acting for it, keeps.
Rafa’s grades and schedule count. His family’s tuition payment portal is a separate access route.
- Transfer of rightsTransferencia de derechos
FERPA rights move from parents to the student at 18 or when the student enters college, whichever comes first.
A student who starts college at 17 would also hold the rights. Rafa’s family helping pay doesn’t move them back.
- ConsentConsentimiento
Written permission with a defined scope: which record, to whom, for what purpose.
The parent-access form lets family pay the bill. Seeing grades needs a separate authorization.
- ExceptionExcepción
A situation where the law allows sharing without consent; schools must follow its specific conditions.
Caio reminds Rafa that “privacy law” isn’t magic. Some exceptions exist, like sharing with parents who claim a student as a tax dependent.
Sige, they can help with the bill. I just want to read what I’m signing before I hand over my grades too.
The evidence
Handle the case file.
Every artifact comes with a question. The captions are the lesson.
FORMMailed to Rafa, August 28
Parent and family access authorization
NOTICEPosted on the registrar’s page, fall term
College annual FERPA notice
CHATSunday, 8:47 p.m.
Rafa’s family group chat
The workshop
45 minutes, block by block.
5 min
Open the envelope (not literally)
TeacherRead the conversation where Rafa hasn’t opened the envelope. Set the norm: no one shares real records.
StudentsWrite: what does Rafa want his family to help with?
CheckAnswers name a specific task, not “everything.”
10 min
Read the rule
TeacherRead the FERPA FAQ lines on rights and transfer aloud.
StudentsAnswer the case quiz: a student starts college at 17—who holds the rights?
CheckStudents answer “the student” and cite why.
10 min
Separate the routes
TeacherHand out the parent-access guide excerpt.
StudentsSort billing, grades and adviser conversations into “covered by this form” or “needs something else.”
CheckGrades land in “needs separate authorization.”
12 min
Draft the question
TeacherModel a records-office question: record, recipient, authority.
StudentsWrite Rafa’s question and the smallest access that would actually help.
CheckQuestion names one record, one person and asks which permission applies.
5 min
Check the limits
TeacherAsk Caio’s question: what if there’s an exception?
StudentsAdd one line saying what they still need to confirm.
CheckLine admits an exception may apply without guessing which.
3 min
Exit
TeacherAsk for one difference between paying and permission.
StudentsWrite it in one sentence.
CheckSentence separates billing access from academic records.
Differentiated routes
One case. Seven ways in.
Each route changes what students read, make and prove, not only how long it takes.
Middle school
Grades 6–8: Make a “my records, my family” card explaining who holds FERPA rights for a middle-school student and what changes at 18.
- Sources
- The FERPA FAQ summary read aloud and the case quiz.
- Product
- Illustrated card, 4–6 sentences
- Raises the rigor
- Add one question you’d ask the school office about who can see your records.
Supports
- Frames: “Right now, __ can see my records. At 18 or in college, __.”
- Picture timeline: middle school → high school → 18/college
- Vocabulary cards: record, consent, rights
Success looks like
- States that parents hold the rights for students under 18 in K–12
- Explains the transfer at 18 or college
- Includes a question for the school office
- Contains no real student information
High school
Grades 9–10: Write Rafa a one-page guide separating paying the bill from seeing grades.
- Sources
- The university parent-access guide excerpt and the Department of Education FAQ.
- Product
- One-page guide, 200–250 words
- Raises the rigor
- Include a line explaining that exceptions exist without inventing which one applies.
Supports
- Two-column organizer: billing access / academic access
- Model first paragraph
- Glossary
Success looks like
- Accurately states the transfer rule
- Separates billing from grades
- Names the records office as the next step
- Flags exceptions honestly
High school
Grades 11–12: Write a decision memo for Rafa: what should he authorize, for whom, and how can he change it later?
- Sources
- All case sources, including the FAQ library entry on exceptions.
- Product
- Decision memo, 350–450 words
- Raises the rigor
- Weigh family trust against privacy, and explain why the smallest useful access is a reasonable default.
Supports
- Memo template: situation, options, recommendation, how to revoke
- Model of a least-access recommendation
Success looks like
- Presents at least two authorization options
- Explains trade-offs for Rafa and his family
- Accurately describes the legal baseline and exceptions
- Includes how to review or withdraw consent
High school
Honors: Argue whether FERPA’s transfer at college should depend on who pays tuition.
- Sources
- Case sources plus the FAQ explanation of the dependent-student exception.
- Product
- Argument, 500–600 words
- Raises the rigor
- Engage fairly with a parent’s perspective and the existing exception.
Supports
- Claim/counterclaim chart
- Stakeholder list: student, parent, college
Success looks like
- Clear, qualified position
- Accurately represents current law
- Engages the parent perspective fairly
- Proposes a concrete alternative or defends the status quo
AP English Language
AP Lang: Rhetorically analyze the university parent-access guide: how does it manage two audiences at once?
- Sources
- The parent-access guide excerpt.
- Product
- Rhetorical analysis, about 450 words
- Raises the rigor
- Explain how the guide’s neutral tone and structure keep both audiences on board without taking sides.
Supports
- Audience map: parents / students
- Analysis stems on tone and structure
Success looks like
- Thesis identifies the dual-audience purpose
- Analyzes structure and diction with quotations
- Explains effect on each audience
- Commentary goes beyond summary
Middle Years
IB MYP: Investigate “Who owns information about me?” and create an infographic for students turning 18.
- Sources
- Case sources; global context: Identities and relationships.
- Product
- Infographic plus 150-word process journal
- Raises the rigor
- Compare FERPA’s approach with how one app or social platform handles your data, noting that different rules apply.
Supports
- Inquiry statement frame
- Infographic layout template
- Source-evaluation checklist
Success looks like
- Accurate FERPA content
- Clear visual organization
- Evaluates sources
- Reflects on identity and independence
Diploma
IB DP: Write a TOK-style reflection on privacy and dependence: can you keep information private from people who support you?
- Sources
- Rafa and Caio’s conversation as perspectives; the FERPA FAQ.
- Product
- Reflection, 700–900 words
- Raises the rigor
- Examine how law, family culture and personal values produce different answers.
Supports
- Knowledge question list
- Perspective chart: Rafa, his family, Caio, the college
Success looks like
- Poses a precise knowledge question
- Analyzes several perspectives, including cultural ones, respectfully
- Uses the law accurately as one lens
- Reaches a personal, reasoned conclusion
Access for every learner
- Provide a one-sentence summary of each source above the original text
- Read the FAQ aloud and show a timeline visual
- Spanish vocabulary: expediente, consentimiento, divulgación, derechos
- Students with IEPs may use a fill-in guide instead of writing from scratch
- Never ask students to describe their own family arrangements
Extension
- Find your own school’s FERPA notice and summarize what it says about directory information and opting out
- Compare FERPA with your state’s student-privacy law, if it has one
Annotated student work
What a draft shows us.
Explain to Rafa whether his family can see his grades because they help pay tuition.
First draft
Rafa, 1your parents are paying so they can probably see everything, that’s how it works at most schools. My parents could always see my grades on the portal in high school. FERPA is a privacy law but 2it’s mostly for kids. 3Once you’re 18 it doesn’t really matter anymore. If you want to keep your grades private you should 4just not give them your password. Honestly just 5ask your parents what they want to see. They’re helping you a lot so it’s probably fair for them to know how you’re doing.
- 1Evidence Paying the bill and seeing grades are separate permissions in the guide.
- 2Gap Backwards: at 18 or in college, the rights transfer to the student.
- 3Gap That’s exactly when the rights become Rafa’s.
- 4Audience Practical, but the real route is the school’s authorization form.
- 5Strength Good instinct: talking with family matters. Rafa decides what to authorize.
Revised
Rafa, under the general FERPA rule, the rights to your education records are yours now, because you’re 18 and in college. Paying tuition doesn’t automatically give your family access to your grades. At schools like the one in the guide, parent access for paying the bill is separate from permission to see academic records. You can decide what to share. Talk with your family about what help you actually want, then ask the records office which form covers that, what it allows and how to change it later. There are exceptions, so ask them which ones your college uses.
Assessment
One-page rubric.
Mark the evidence you see. Leave room for a comment and a next step.
| Criterion | Beginning | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence | No source cited. | Refers to “privacy law” generally. | Cites the transfer rule and the separate-access guide. | Cites both and notes that exceptions exist. |
| Reasoning | States the rule backwards. | Gets the transfer right but merges billing and grades. | Separates paying from permission correctly. | Explains why least access is a reasonable choice. |
| Audience & purpose | Tells Rafa what to do. | Gives advice without a next step. | Leaves the decision with Rafa and names the records office. | Respects Rafa’s family relationship while protecting his choice. |
| Revision | No change. | Fixes one fact. | Fixes the rule and adds a next step. | Explains why each correction matters for Rafa’s decision. |
Evidence I saw
Next step
Standards
What this case teaches, by the book.
CCSS 6–8 4
RI.6.1Students cite the form to show what parent access covers and what it leaves out.RI.7.4Students define “education record,” “consent” and “disclosure” as the form uses them.W.6.2Students write a short guide explaining one FERPA right to a younger reader.SL.6.1Students discuss what family support looks like without sharing their own records.
CCSS 9–10 3
RI.9-10.1Students cite the Department of Education FAQ precisely when explaining the transfer of rights.RI.9-10.5Students analyze how the university guide’s structure separates billing from academic access.W.9-10.2Students write an explanatory guide that separates paying from permission.
CCSS 11–12 3
RI.11-12.1Students cite where the general rule ends and exceptions begin.RI.11-12.7Students integrate the federal FAQ, the university guide and Rafa’s situation.W.11-12.2Students explain a layered rule clearly for a first-year college audience.
C3 Framework 3
D2.Civ.3.6-8Students examine the purpose of a federal privacy law and how it affects families.D2.Civ.12.9-12Students analyze how students use FERPA to control who sees their records.D3.1.9-12Students select the federal FAQ and the school’s own notice as authoritative sources.
AP English Language 3
Rhetorical Situation (RHS)Students write for a first-year student deciding what to sign.Claims and Evidence (CLE)Students separate the claim “parents can see everything” from what the form authorizes.Reasoning and Organization (REO)Students sequence a guide from general rule to exceptions to next step.
IB MYP 3
Individuals and Societies A: Knowing and understandingStudents explain FERPA’s basic rights and transfer point accurately.Individuals and Societies C: CommunicatingStudents present the rule in an organized guide for peers.Language and Literature B: OrganizingStudents structure information from general to specific.
IB DP 2
Global Politics — key concepts: rights and libertyStudents compare how privacy rights shift at adulthood and who holds them.Theory of Knowledge — Knowledge and politics (optional theme)Students ask who decides what information about a person may be known, and by whom.
Take it off the page
Find your school’s records notice.
- Search your school or district website for its FERPA or “student records” notice
- Find out what counts as directory information and how families can opt out
- Write one question about who can see a record, and ask the front office or counselor
- If you’re heading to college, look up its parent-access and authorization forms early