Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (1974)

1) Link to the Text of the Act
Read the statute (20 U.S.C. § 1232g)

2) Why It Was Done
FERPA was enacted to protect the privacy of student education records and to give parents (and later students themselves) rights to access and control disclosure of those records.

3) Pre-existing Law or Constitutional Rights
Before FERPA, student record privacy was handled inconsistently at the state and local levels. FERPA established nationwide standards for privacy in federally funded schools.