Dear Friends of FAIR,
Every year, the U.S. Department of Education is required to remind states and school districts of their legal obligations to parents under two federal laws: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). This year’s notification, issued August 26, 2026, goes a step beyond a routine reminder. It puts schools on notice about specific practices tied to parental consent and student rights. Here’s what parents, educators, and FAIR members need to know.
FERPA and PPRA are easy to confuse. FERPA governs records and gives parents the right to inspect, review, and seek correction of what a school keeps on file about their child. PPRA, on the other hand, governs data collection and limits what schools can ask students to reveal about themselves, especially on sensitive topics, without parental consent. Both laws have been on the books for decades, but enforcement has historically been uneven.
PPRA requires written parental consent, not just a heads-up, before students are surveyed on sensitive topics like mental health, political or religious beliefs, sexual behavior, or family income. The Department’s letter draws a hard line here: a passive opt-out isn’t sufficient. When an authority figure administers a survey, students rarely feel free to say no, so the responsibility falls on schools to ask parents first, not after the fact.
This matters because a quiet opt-out buried in a handbook is not the same as a parent actively saying yes. Meaningful consent requires transparency up front, not a chance to object later. FAIR has recently updated its opt-out forms to reflect this guidance, giving parents clear and legally grounded tools to understand their rights.
In a notable clarification, the Department states plainly that behavioral and emotional health screeners fall under PPRA’s protected “mental or psychological problems” category. That means schools using these tools, which are increasingly common in classrooms, must secure written parental consent beforehand. This addresses a gray area that has allowed some schools to treat mental health screening as routine, rather than as the sensitive inquiry it is, and provides clear guidelines for parents, educators, and administrators to work together as an educational team for every child.
The notification also addresses a practice FAIR has long been concerned about: schools maintaining separate records and informal files outside a student’s official record, specifically to shield them from parental review. The Department’s position is unambiguous: FERPA does not recognize a distinction between “official” and “unofficial” records. If a school maintains information directly related to a student, it is an education record, and parents have the right to inspect and review it.
Lastly, the Department’s reminder flags continued concern that schools may be limiting parents’ ability to inspect instructional materials, a core PPRA right. Schools are required to make curriculum available for review upon request, and the Department signals this will be an enforcement priority going forward. Districts don’t need a special reason to say yes to a curriculum review request because the right exists regardless of the subject matter or grade level of the student.
It’s easy to assume the Department’s guidance only matters if a parent suspects their school is doing something wrong, but these protections exist for every family, in every district, whether or not anything has gone wrong yet. Knowing what your school can ask your child, what you’re entitled to see, and what “consent” actually has to look like is what makes parents genuine partners in their child’s education. FAIR believes clear consent requirements and open access to records and curriculum benefits families across the political spectrum are a civics and transparency issue, not a partisan one.
This notification is a reminder that the law is already on parents’ side. The challenge has been enforcement and awareness. Knowing what your school is required to disclose only helps if you know the process and have the right tools to use it. FAIR has a template letter you can send to your district requesting written confirmation that it obtains affirmative written consent before any sensitive survey or mental health screener; does not maintain hidden or “unofficial” student records outside your FERPA access rights; and makes curriculum available for parent review on request. Communication with your district now is essential to a productive school year.
Here are a few practical steps every parent can take now:
Ask for your district’s annual notification. Every district receiving federal funds is required to notify parents of their FERPA and PPRA rights at the start of the school year. If you didn’t receive a notification, ask your school directly where and when it was provided.
Request a copy of any survey or screener before it’s administered. Confirm whether it touches on any of PPRA’s protected categories.
Ask how your district defines an “education record.” If the answer is vague, that’s worth following up on.
Use FAIR’s template letter. Request written confirmation from your district that it obtains affirmative written consent before any sensitive survey or mental health screener is administered, does not maintain hidden or “unofficial” student records outside your FERPA access rights, and makes curricula available for parent review on request.
FAIR will continue to track how states and districts respond to the Department’s guidance via our Chapter Network & FAIR Incident Reporting, support parents seeking to exercise their inspection and consent rights, and advocate for clear and proactive notification policies at the local level.
If your school has denied you access to your child’s records or administered a survey or screening without your written consent, we want to hear from you. Reach out through our Chapter Network or contact us directly at FAIR Incident Reporting.
Work like this — reviewing federal guidance, updating template letters and opt-out forms, and supporting parents through our Chapter Network — depends on FAIR members. If you find this kind of resource useful, please consider making a donation to help us keep producing them.
With gratitude,
Monica Harris
Executive Director, FAIR
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Great article. As a teacher and school counselor for over four decades, I always knew, and affirmed in my record-keeping and classroom curriculum, that parents have these rights. Any school, or individual educator, or counselor, who wants to play “loosy-goosy” with parents’ rights need to know their responsibility and accountability.