In 2016, one university began discussions of how to use the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to their advantage to address an adversarial position parents were taking with university personnel. These parents were termed "helicopter parents"--parents who take an "overprotective or excessive interest in the life of…

Universities involve parents of college students in the undergraduate experience, but there is limited research on the specific pathways for parent engagement. This study examined how universities involve parents of undergraduate students at large public universities with graduation rates higher than the national average. Through the lenses of…

Although education is in many ways a responsibility of states and localities, the U.S. federal government also has an important role to play. National laws, court rulings, and policy guidance help ensure that English Learner (EL) and immigrant-background students have equitable access to a meaningful education. It is then up to states and school…

Parents expect school districts and schools to keep their children safe while they are in school. That expectation of safety and security also extends to the protection of their children's learning data. Therefore, it is critical that school districts and schools are open and transparent about their student data privacy practices, and that those…

Many faculty and staff working in higher education lament the increasing involvement of the parents of their college-aged students. They denigrate such individuals as "helicopter" parents, and when the contact occurs in person as opposed to through the phone or email, they call them "lawn mower" parents. The whole issue of…

This qualitative research study was based on interviews with 17 persons who had traditional-age undergraduate students currently attending college. The purpose was to explore the parents' perception of the parent-student relationship regarding their degree of parental involvement with their college students' experiences and to explore if that…

Today's parents are involved in college students' lives more than those of any previous generation. The purpose of this article is to help institutions constructively manage their relationships with parents, for the benefit of students, the institution, and the parents themselves. The author seeks to offer guidance to institutions in developing a…

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act has sometimes caused confusion among higher education professionals since the legislation was introduced by Senator James Buckley in 1974. Reasons for this confusion range from the fact that it became a law without the usual congressional considerations to the belief that FERPA was never intended to…

In this chapter, the author addresses one important issue of contemporary campus life: parental involvement in the lives of today's college students. There seems to be broad consensus that the institution-parent relationship is changing, and at its most extreme manifestations presents the helicopter parent phenomenon. However, it is important not…

Once upon a time, parents would help their children move into dorm rooms and apartments, then wave good-bye for the semester. Not anymore. Baby boomers have arguably been more involved in their children's educations--and their lives in general--than any preceding generation of parents, university observers say. And boomers see no reason why that…

The legislative purpose behind Congress's enactment of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is to promote communication between institutions and the parents of students. Article revisits the historical context of FERPA and offers insights into recent amendments that redefine some aspects of the provisions in the original statute.…

Discusses how the 1998 amendment to the Family Education Rights to Privacy Act, which awarded institutions of higher education the option to notify parents when students have violated alcohol or drug policies, created an opportunity for collaboration between parents and universities. Presents a case study followed by discussion on how the new…

Looks at the arguments against keeping secret records on schoolchildren. (Editor)

This monograph is divided into three main sections: theoretical grounding, student identity, and implications. The first section, theoretical grounding of parental involvement, looks at the reasons parents today are more likely to be involved in their students' lives and then reviews the literature of K-12 education and compares that information…

With the passage of Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 was amended to make it substantially easier for institutions of higher education to notify parents when their students violate institutional policies or laws concerning alcohol and other drugs. This study examines how common parental…