Investigations & Accountability
The Education Department’s Student Privacy Policy Office issued a Dear Colleague Letter reminding schools and state education agencies of obligations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. FERPA generally gives parents rights to inspect and seek amendment of education records. PPRA governs certain student surveys, evaluations and activities involving sensitive information. The Aug. 26 letter arrives as schools reopen, but it does not create a new statute or automatically find any named school in violation.
The department says schools may not hide maintained education records from parents by storing them separately or relabeling them. It also reminds districts that parents must receive required notices and, in covered circumstances, consent or an opportunity to opt a student out of specified surveys and activities. Whether a particular note, counseling document or support plan is an education record can depend on who maintains it, how it is used and exceptions in the law. Those facts cannot be resolved by a slogan.
The letter warns that noncompliance can lead to investigation and, after required procedures, a loss of federal funding. That is a potential remedy, not an instant penalty. Agencies normally gather records, notify recipients, allow responses and seek voluntary correction before the most severe funding action. Schools should preserve complaint files, annual notices, access logs, survey materials and staff training records so compliance can be demonstrated rather than merely asserted.
Student privacy and parental access can collide in difficult cases. FERPA contains exceptions and definitions; PPRA has its own coverage rules. The guidance emphasizes parental rights, while districts and advocates may contest how those provisions apply to gender-support records, counseling or safety concerns. Any enforcement case should identify the record, custodian, request, response and statutory subsection. A broad political claim cannot answer those elements for every student.
Liberty’s bell: confirmed are the guidance, underlying statutes and announced enforcement pathway. The department cites reports and investigations as reasons for renewed emphasis; those examples must be evaluated case by case. Disputed are the scope of some records and the balance between access and privacy. Unknown are which new complaints will be opened and what corrective actions will follow. Expected next are annual notices, district policy reviews and possible investigations. Rights are strongest when the process is specific, reviewable and written down. Families and schools should retain dated requests and responses so any later complaint can be tested against the actual record rather than conflicting recollections.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education — Department Reminds Schools of Their Obligation to Comply with Parental Rights Law (08-26-2026)
- U.S. Department of Education — Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (08-27-2026)