The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records, both financial and academic. FERPA limits release of student record information without the student's written consent; however, it also gives the student's parent(s)/guardian(s) the right to review those records, without the student’s consent, if the parent(s)/ guardian(s) claim the student as a dependent on their Federal Income Tax Return