The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law which states that no one shall have access to nor will the institution disclose any non-directory information from a student's educational records without the written consent of the student except to personnel within the institution who have a demonstrated educational need to know. Disclosure is defined as permitting access or the release, transfer, or other communication of educational records of the student or the personally identifiable information contained therein, orally, in writing, by electronic means, or by any other means to any party.