School Records Request Letter

This School Records Request Letter is a document used to make a request for one's own or one's child's school records. This can be useful for a family that is moving and has children that are moving to a new school. It might also be used for someone who is applying to college, graduate school, or an internship. In these and many other circumstances, a person may need to get records from a school. This letter is meant to help a sender obtain those needed documents.

School records are usually maintained on each student to facilitate the instruction, guidance, and education of the student. The records may contain identification data, attendance data, records of achievement, family background data, aptitude tests, educational and vocational plans, honors and activities, discipline data, teacher ratings, and external agency reports.

Schools keep many different records that may be necessary for different purposes. These records include grade and attendance reports that may be an important part of an admissions process. Transcripts can highlight a students strengths, weaknesses, and ambitions. School administrators and scholarship committes can get a better understanding of someone's educational background and history by having access to these records. Whether someone needs these records for themselves or for their child, sending a school records request letter can make this process faster and easier.

How to use this document

This document is relatively straightforward and includes everything necessary to make a request for official records from a school. The user should first specify their own contact information and the contact information for the school from which they are making the request. If known, they should include the name of the contact person at the school who will receive this request.

This is usually a guidance counselor or administrator, but the information can often be found by calling the school or visiting their website. The sender is then able to specify whether they are requesting their own records or the records of their child. They can also describe specific records that they would like, as well as the start and end dates for the requested records.

Once the letter is complete, the sender should print out and sign the letter and then mail it to the school. They should be sure to keep a copy of the letter for their own records in case of future dispute or misunderstanding.

Applicable law

A federal law called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) governs a parent's right of access to student records. The law guarantees parents the right to have access to their child's school records. It also prohibits release of the records to outsiders without parental permission, except in the case of an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals. The law applies to all schools which receive funds under any federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. This includes funds provided to students attending the school and to schools that receive grants or contracts from the Department of Education. This means that the Act applies to all public schools and colleges, but not private and parochial schools. For requests that fall under this law, the school must respond to the request within 45 days.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.