questions & answers

Question: I understand that the age of adulthood is 18 in Arizona. While it may seem like a silly question, I wanted to make absolutely sure that this applies to my high school's ability to require parental consent or signatures, or notify my parents without my permission. They seem to be under the impression it does not. If this does apply to the school, I assume a simple state issued I.D. would suffice to prove my age?

Answer:

This issue is covered under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) – particularly, 20 U.S.C. §1232(g) and 34 CFR §99. The general rule is that a student becomes an adult at age 18.

However, if the adult student is still a dependent as defined by the Internal Revenue Code, then parents still have a right to access the student’s information without the student’s permission. This only applies in the K-12 environment and is not applicable at colleges and universities even if the student is still a dependent.