Parents of students with disabilities have the right to access their children’s educational records. Schools must “permit parents to inspect and review any education records relating to their children that are collected, maintained, or used by the agency under these regulations.”1 In terms of timing, the LEA must comply with a request without unnecessary delay by providing requested records before any meeting regarding an IEP, due process hearing, resolution meeting, or Manifestation Determination meeting.2 “[I]n no case can the LEA take more than forty-five days to provide the records after the request has been made.”3
Additionally, a state statute known as the Louisiana Parents’ Bill of Rights for Public Schools grants all parents of public school children under 18 the right “[t]o inspect their child’s school records, and to receive a copy of their child’s records with ten business days of submitting a written request.”4 Under this law, electronic records must be provided at no charge, and any charges for hard copies must be reasonable and set forth in the official rules and regulations of the school’s governing authority.5 The law applies to academic records, medical or health records, records of mental health counseling, records of vocational counseling, discipline records, attendance records, records related to screening for exceptionalities, IEPs, IAPs, and any other student-specific file, document, or other materials maintained by the school.6
The most well-known law related to the right to access educational records is the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”). Under FERPA regulations, “education records” are records that are directly related to a student and that are maintained by an educational agency or institution or a party acting for or on behalf of the agency or institution. These records may be maintained in any form (e.g., hard copy or electronic) and include but are not limited to grades, transcripts, class lists, student course schedules, health records (at the K-12 level), student financial information (at the postsecondary level), and student discipline files.7 If a record contains identifying information for another student, the educational agency may release the records after redacting the other student’s personally identifiable information.8