Ask the FERPA Professors

May 14, 2024
  • FERPA
  • FERPA Professor

Dear FERPA Professor,

I hope you are doing well. Some of our students need reasonable accommodations. To comply with FERPA regulations and enable the department responsible for supporting these students to share the students' information with their faculty to aid the student with their coursework, the department will attest that obtaining written consent is sufficient.


Regards,
Mr. Gaines


Dear Mr. Gaines,

The school would not need to obtain written consent in order for the accommodations office to share appropriate accommodation information with the student's faculty.  This is because any faculty member who is teaching the particular student would be considered to have a legitimate educational interest in accessing this information.  See § 99.31(a)(1) of the FERPA regulations for the exception to signed consent that permits this sharing.

I hope this is helpful in answering your questions.  You can find more information in the 2012 AACRAO FERPA Guide.


The FERPA Professor

Want the Professor to come to your campus? Visit our FERPA compliance training page.

AACRAO members, send your questions to the FERPA Professor at communications@aacrao.org.

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