lawprofessors

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Have you ever had a problem getting your or your child's student records from a school?  Or, have you encountered school staff speaking about  your   confidential student records in public locations or to other parents?  If so, there is an agency which may be able to help: the Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) . FPCO is a part of the United States Department of Education (USDOE) and is located in Washington DC. They enforce the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ), a federal law addressing student records rights at schools which accept federal funding.  Complaints are accepted by FPCO from across the country regarding public and private schools which breach students' records rights.  Due to jurisdiction being limited to schools accepting federal funds, usually private schools at the elementary and secondary levels are not subject to FERPA.   Per the USDOE we...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Attorney or non-attorney advocate?  What is the difference?  Parents faced with a school issue, such as expulsion or a special education problem, often do not know who can help.  Do parents really have to hire an attorney?  What about the lady you heard about who helps parents?  Here is the lowdown on advocate versus attorney and how it relates to your school issues. I am an attorney, licensed to practice law in California.  However, a lot of what I do daily is advocacy .  Advocacy is basically helping a cause (my clients' cause).  Per Merriam-Webster.com  " advocacy " (noun-thing) is "the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal."  To "advocate" (verb) is "to support or argue for (a cause, policy, etc.).  An " advocate"  (noun- person) is "a person who argues for or supports a cause or policy."  So "advocate" can mean different yet s...