Who qualifies as an eligible student under FERPA?

An eligible student under FERPA is defined as a student who is 18 years of age or older or who attends a postsecondary institution. This definition acknowledges the rights of students to control their educational records once they reach adulthood, allowing them to make their own decisions regarding the access and privacy of their educational information. Specifically, FERPA grants these eligible students various rights, including the right to inspect and review their education records and to request amendments to those records if they believe the information is inaccurate or misleading.

This focus on age is crucial because it shifts the responsibility for managing educational records from parents or guardians to the students themselves. While being enrolled in any course or having graduated would typically make a student eligible for certain access to records, the essential criterion for being classified as an eligible student under FERPA is reaching the age of 18. Parental consent does not factor into the definition of an eligible student since once a student meets the age requirement, they have the right to control their own records regardless of parental involvement.