If a school violates a student's privacy rights, parents or if the student has turned 18 can file a written complaint. The complaint will be with the Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) at the US Department of Education. It is encouraged (not required) that parents or an eligible student first contact the school to try resolve the issue before filing a FERPA complaint.

You may mail the complaint to:

U.S. Department of Education
Student Privacy Policy Office
400 Maryland Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20202-8520

A complaint form can also be emailed to [email protected]. This form can be downloaded from the U.S. Department of Education's website.

For general inquiries, the U.S. Department of Education can be contacted at: 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327)

You must file your complaint within 180 days of the date of the alleged violation. It can also be filed within 180 days of the date you found out about it. The time limit can be extended if you were prevented by circumstances beyond your control from filing the complaint on time.

The Department of Education investigates complaints to find out if the school has violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Both the parents or an eligible student and the school will get a notice from the U.S. Department of Education when it starts its investigation. The school has the opportunity to submit a written response to the FERPA complaint. The U.S. Department of Education may require the school to submit more information such as reports to help its investigation. Parents or an eligible student can also submit further written or oral arguments or information to support your complaint.

After the investigation is over, the U.S. Department of Education will give the parents or the eligible student and the school a written notice. The notice contains its findings and the basis for its findings. If the U.S. Department of Education finds that the school has violated FERPA, the notice will include a statement of the steps that the school must take to fix the problem and the time period for doing so.

If the school does not fix the problem within this period, the U.S. Department of Education may withhold future federal funding for the school.