What types of records fall under FERPA?

FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, specifically protects the privacy of students’ education records. This includes a range of documents that relate directly to a student's academic experience, such as grades, transcripts, class lists, student schedules, and disciplinary records. The essence of FERPA is to ensure that students and their families have rights over their educational records, including the right to access and request corrections to those records.

In this context, education records are defined as records that are directly related to a student and maintained by an educational institution or a party acting on its behalf. Since grades, transcripts, and disciplinary records are all fundamental elements of a student’s educational experience, they are explicitly covered under FERPA’s provisions, which aim to protect the privacy and confidentiality of those records.

The other types of records mentioned—health records, employment records, and financial records—are governed by different regulations. Health records are typically protected under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), while employment records are generally subject to labor laws and not covered by FERPA. Financial records may also fall under different regulations depending on the context, such as student financial aid records, which can have specific protections but are not encompassed by FERPA in the same way