Dear FERPA Professor,
We have encountered a situation which we've not had before, but one which I trust is not new to you. Any guidance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
At my institution, we have a form parents can fill out and use to request access to records based on the financial dependency of their student.This completed form, along with copies of the most recent tax returns, are considered sufficient for us to consider releasing information to the parent. I believe our policy and practice is in compliance.
We have now been contacted by the parents of a foreign student. They are seeking information about their son ...and are seeking to do so under the financial dependency exception. However, as they are neither US citizens nor residents of the US, they have never had to file with the IRS. In their request, they sent screen prints of bank payments demonstrating that they have paid their son's tuition, but that doesn't seem sufficient for release.
Has there ever been an amendment to FERPA that might address this? Is there any way for parents of international students to be given access without student consent?
Thanks ...and Happy New Year!
Anna Banana
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Dear Anna,
Happy New Year to you! I hope the holiday season has left you refreshed and prepared to tackle issues like this one.
Luckily, this problem is pretty straightforward to deal with. The “Dependent Student” exception to signed consent found in 99.31(a)(8) of the FERPA regulations is very specific in that any disclosure under this exception is statutorily linked to the IRS tax code. In short, the student must be claimed on the parent’s U.S. tax return, which means it cannot be used for parents of foreign students. When dealing with parents of foreign students who are not U.S. citizens, the practice you described does not meet the requirements of the dependent student exception. Thus, the student would need to provide a signed consent that meets the conditions of 99.30.
I hope this is helpful in response to your question.
The FERPA Professor
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