Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Re: joint custody

Yes. But not just when there is a joint custody agreement or order.

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), also known as the Buckley Amendment, both

parents have the same rights of access to the school records of their children, whether the parent has custody or

not, and even if the parent has restricted visitation or the custodial parent has expressly told the school not to

allow the other parent access to the records. The full language of FERPA appears at 20 USC 1232g. The

Federal regulations related to the law are found in the Federal Register (34 CFR Part 99). FERPA's 1994

amendments are found in Public Law (P.L.) 103-382.

FERPA gives both parents equal access to student information unless the school is provided with a court order

revoking the right of access. When students reach age eighteen, or when they become enroll in a post secondary

education institution, the rights under FERPA transfer to the students -- in other words they become the ones

with the rights to their school records, not their parents.