Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

Third Update Regarding FERPA

The purpose of this letter is to share additional updates to communications that we shared with you on April 1, 2025, and April 11, 2025.

On March 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) sent a letter to Chief State School Officers and Superintendents requesting that each state educational agency (SEA) submit “reports, information on policies and procedures, annual notifications, training materials or other information necessary” to provide assurance that the SEA and their respective local educational agencies (LEAs) are complying with the provisions of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.

This week, we have sent a letter to ED detailing how all LEAs in California make assurances to the state of compliance, as well as information about the active CDE engagement to assist LEAs in complying with all state and federal student privacy laws and best practices.

A copy of our response is attached. We will continue to keep the field apprised of the CDE responses to federal actions. An ongoing list of the CDE 2025 responses to federal actions is maintained on this web page: https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/fa.

Thank you for your continued hard work on behalf of all students in the State of California. As we at CDE continue to focus on moving the needle for student achievement, we again commend all California school staff who are maintaining a local focus on the all-important task of serving our students.

If your LEA or school community experiences disruption or other direct impacts to educational services for students as a result of federal action, please continue to reach out to EdReliefFunds@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Signed by

David Schapira
Chief Deputy Superintendent
Chief of Staff
California Department of Education