Teaching resources

FERPA basics for US teachers: what you can and can't share

Published October 30, 2026

In short — FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protects the privacy of student education records in the US. Most teachers know it exists but aren't sure exactly what it covers in day-to-day practice — sharing grades with parents, posting scores, using classroom apps, sending emails. This guide covers the practical basics: what counts as an education record, who can see what and when, and how to pick classroom tools that keep you on solid ground. This is practical information, not legal advice — always check with your school's administration for guidance specific to your situation.

What FERPA actually covers

FERPA, passed in 1974, gives parents (and students over 18) the right to access, review, and request corrections to a student's education records. It also restricts who schools can share those records with, without consent.

It applies to any school that receives federal funding — which includes virtually all public K-12 schools and most colleges. Private K-12 schools that don't receive federal funding are not covered, though many adopt similar policies voluntarily.

What counts as an education record: any record that (1) is directly related to a student and (2) is maintained by the school or by someone acting on the school's behalf. Grades, transcripts, attendance records, disciplinary files, IEPs, health records maintained by the school — all covered.

What is NOT an education record: a teacher's personal notes made solely for their own use and not shared with anyone else. Your private grade book, notes you jot to yourself about a student's participation — these are not education records as long as you don't share them. The moment you share them with another school official, they become part of the record.

The age-18 shift: when rights transfer

This is the detail that catches teachers off guard most often. Under FERPA, rights belong to parents when the student is under 18 and enrolled in K-12. The moment a student turns 18, or enrolls in a post-secondary institution (whichever comes first), FERPA rights transfer entirely to the student.

Practical implications:

• A college student's parents have no automatic right to see their grades, even if they're paying tuition. The student must provide written consent.
• An 18-year-old high school senior's parents technically have no FERPA right to the student's records either — though many schools handle this transition carefully and some states have additional rules.
• Emailing a grade to a parent when the student is 18+ requires the student's consent. A quick "can I share your grade with your parent?" conversation and a written confirmation is the safe approach.

Sharing grades in class: public posting and peer grading

Two common classroom practices that can raise FERPA issues:

Posting grades publicly: putting a ranked list of scores on the board, even anonymized with student ID numbers only the teacher assigns, can violate FERPA if students can identify each other from the list. The safe practice is sharing grades only with the individual student — via a private portal, a folded paper, or a direct conversation.

Peer grading: having students grade each other's papers is generally allowed under FERPA (the Supreme Court addressed this in Owasso v. Falvo, 2002), as long as grades are not recorded in a grade book by the student doing the grading. The act of one student seeing another's grade during peer review doesn't create an education record — but a student maintaining a list of classmates' grades would.

💡 When in doubt about a public-posting or peer-grading practice, the simplest test is: could a student identify another student's grade from this? If yes, route it through a private channel instead.

Classroom apps, LMS platforms, and third-party tools

This is where most modern FERPA questions live. When you use a third-party app or platform with student data, FERPA requires that the vendor have a signed agreement with your school acknowledging their obligations as a "school official" — often called a Data Processing Agreement or a FERPA-compliant terms of service.

Before adopting any tool that will handle student data (names, grades, assignments, attendance), ask:

• Has my school district or IT department approved this tool?
• Does the vendor have a signed agreement with the district?
• Does the tool's privacy policy prohibit selling or using student data for advertising?
• Are students required to create personal accounts, or does the school manage access?

The riskiest scenario: using a personal free-tier account of a consumer app (not a school-licensed version) and entering student names and grades. Consumer apps typically have data collection and ad-targeting terms that are incompatible with FERPA.

Tools that are designed for classroom use with data minimization in mind — like SnapJury, which uses only first names, stores everything on-device and in private iCloud, and sends no data to external servers — sidestep most of these concerns structurally rather than contractually.

Email and informal communication

Email is an education record if it contains information about a specific student and is maintained by the school system. A few practical rules:

• Don't share a student's grades or disciplinary information via personal email (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) — use your school-issued account, which is covered by the school's data management policies.
• Don't CC a parent on an email discussing another student, even by accident.
• If a parent emails you asking about their child's grade and the child is under 18, you can respond to the parent's school-registered email. If you're not sure it's the parent's legitimate contact on file, route through the main office.
• Group emails to the whole class that include any individual performance information are a red flag — each student's information should go only to that student (and their parent, if under 18).

What happens if something goes wrong

The most important thing to know: FERPA enforcement targets institutions, not individual teachers acting in good faith. If you accidentally send a student's grade to the wrong parent, report it to your administration immediately. Document what happened and what steps you took to address it. Schools that self-report and take corrective action are treated very differently from schools with systemic, willful violations.

No teacher has ever been personally fined under FERPA. The consequence for schools is potential loss of federal funding — a serious institutional risk, which is why your administration takes it seriously, but not a personal legal risk for a teacher who slips up and reports promptly.

Practical classroom hygiene: five habits

• Share grades and feedback privately — never on public boards, never in group emails.
• Use school-approved platforms for storing and sharing student information.
• Before adopting a new app or tool, check with your IT or admin office.
• When students turn 18, update your communication habits — parent access is no longer automatic.
• If you're unsure whether something is okay, ask your school's privacy officer or administrator before doing it, not after.

Wrap-up

FERPA isn't a minefield — it's a framework with clear logic: student records are private, parents have access while students are minors, rights transfer at 18, and school-approved tools used within policy are generally fine. The habits that keep you on solid ground are the same habits that respect students as people: share information about them carefully, only with those who need it, through channels the school has vetted.

Frequently asked questions

Can I share a student's grade with their parent?

For students under 18, yes — parents have the right to access education records. Once a student turns 18 or enrolls in a post-secondary institution, FERPA rights transfer to the student and you cannot share grades with parents without the student's written consent, even if the parents are paying tuition.

What counts as an education record under FERPA?

Any record that is directly related to a student and maintained by the school or by someone acting for the school. This includes grades, transcripts, attendance records, and disciplinary files. It does NOT include a teacher's personal notes kept solely for their own use and not shared with anyone.

Can I use a third-party app or LMS without violating FERPA?

Yes, if the app or platform has signed a FERPA-compliant agreement with your school. Before adopting any tool, check whether your school's IT or admin office has approved it. Using personal free-tier accounts of tools that collect and sell data is the main risk area.

What happens if I accidentally share student information?

Report it to your school administration promptly. Accidental disclosures happen, and FERPA enforcement focuses primarily on systemic violations by institutions, not individual teachers acting in good faith. What matters is transparency, prompt reporting, and taking steps to prevent recurrence.