U.S. Department of Education Reminds Schools of Their Obligation to Comply with Parental Rights Law

Today, as students begin a new school year, the U.S. Department of Education's Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) reminding state and local education agencies receiving federal funding of their obligations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). This guidance reminds schools that they must allow parents to review students' educational records, and that failure to comply with these federal parental rights laws can result in the loss of federal funding.

The DCL and annual notifications come amid rampant reports of schools withholding critical information from parents, such as maintaining records related to a child's "gender" separately in order to keep them hidden from parents. Over the past year, SPPO has investigated districts for issuing sexually explicit surveys even after parents opted their children out, as well as allegations that a teacher required students to kiss members of the same sex for a graded assignment and that "Parental Secrecy Policies" instruct educators to hide records relating to "gender transition" from parents. In some cases, SPPO has investigated state departments of education for pressuring districts to violate FERPA.

"Parents know what is best for their children," said SPPO Director Frank Miller. "Yet, we continue to see schools adopt policies that shut parents out of their children's lives at school. The Department is committed to putting parents back in the driver's seat. We will fully enforce FERPA and PPRA and ensure parents have the information and authority they need to make decisions for their children."

Under PPRA, schools must obtain written parental consent before requiring students to participate in surveys, evaluations, or analyses that reveal certain protected information about a student or their family, including political beliefs, mental or psychological health, sex behavior or attitudes, religious beliefs, and certain other sensitive information. The DCL clarifies that SPPO will consider such surveys "required" when administered by an educator, counselor, or other school official and that an opt-out policy is not sufficient to secure parental consent.

The letter also highlights concerns that schools are not effectively notifying parents of their rights under FERPA and PPRA, which include the right to review all their children's records and curriculum upon request as well as to make modifications to their child's records.

You can find the Dear Colleague Letter here.

Background:

FERPA and PPRA are federal privacy laws enforced by the Department's SPPO. FERPA protects the privacy of students' education records and safeguards parents' rights to access their children's education records, seek amendments to those records, and exercise control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information. PPRA requires school administers to provide an opt-out opportunity to families when deploying surveys or evaluations asking students for certain sensitive and private information. 

Under President Trump's leadership, this Administration has made unprecedented progress to protect parental rights. For the first time, the Department has launched statewide investigations to hold states and school districts accountable for their reported illegal activity. Earlier this year, the Department issued a first-of-its kind finding against the California Department of Education for violations of FERPA that exposed some of the most insidious tactics used to hide information from parents, including creating secret "gender support plans" that are kept in separate filing systems away from parents, and inquiring whether a student management software company could hide children's name changes and pronouns from parents.   

In June 2026, the Department partnered with DOJ to provide more responsive and coordinated enforcement of our nation's parental and civil rights laws with the goal of continuing investigations uninterrupted while also cutting red tape and expediting enforcement.   

Violations of FERPA or PPRA can result in the termination of an educational institution's federal funding.