Whatever parental rights the family court and family laws of Alabama believe he has, his ex-wife and bureaucrats in the educational establishment have other ideas.  His case is a simple one; he wanted to see his daughter's report card to see how she's coming along in school. 

As Lewis goes on to write,

"The educational establishment here in Selma loves to whine about the lack of parental involvement, but when a parent actually shows up—especially a father... they stonewall them"

Schools that exclude non-custodial parents are violating parents civil rights.

Even noncustodial parents have a First Amendment right to free association and a Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law.

Parental participation in school activities is neither an issue of custody nor visitation, but a matter between the school and each individual parent.

The U.S. Department of Education published a report in which it recommended active participation by nonresident fathers.  The report found, "Children are more likely to get mostly A's, to enjoy school, and to participate in extracurricular activities if their nonresident fathers are involved in their schools than if they are not."  It went on to say the majority of nonresident fathers are not involved in their children's schools.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) spells out your rights

(20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99)

A Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."

·         Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.

  ·         Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

·         Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

      School officials with legitimate educational interest;

      Other schools to which a student is transferring;

      Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;

      Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;

      Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
          o Accrediting organizations;
          o To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
          o Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
          o State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

For additional information or technical assistance, you may call (202) 260-3887 (voice). Individuals who use TDD may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

Or you may contact the Family Policy Compliance Office at the following address:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-5920

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