Student-Records Rules Targeted for Changes

The Department of Education has proposed amending federal regulations governing student records.

The proposal, which was published in the March 14 issue of the Federal Register, would eliminate a requirement that school districts adopt a formal student-records policy, in accordance with changes made to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in 1994. But the proposed rules would require districts to notify parents not only of their right of access to their children's records, but also of how to obtain them.

Districts would have three years to implement the new requirement, and the department expects to provide guidance on the matter once...