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Under chapter 26 of the Texas Education Code, a parent is entitled to the following:

  • Access to a child's records including attendance records, test scores, grades, disciplinary records, health records, student evaluations, and reports of behavioral patterns.
  • Review of teaching materials, including textbooks and aids.
  • Review of each test the child takes after it is administered to the child's class.

A 2002 Texas Attorney General opinion addressed the question of whether a parent has unrestricted access to a child's counseling records. The opinion states:

Under [FERPA], a public school may withhold a minor child's counseling records from a parent only if the records are kept in the sole possession of the counselor, are used only as the counselor's personal memory aid, and are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the counselor. Within this circumscribed category, state law permits the counselor to withhold a minor child's records only if the counselor is a "professional," as defined in section 611.001(2) of the Health and Safety Code, and further, if the counselor "determines that release" of such record "would be harmful to the patient's physical, mental, or emotional health."

The Health and Safety Code defines "professional" to include: a person licensed or certified by this state to diagnose, evaluate, or treat any mental or emotional condition or disorder; or a person the patient reasonably believes is authorized, licensed, or certified as provided by this subsection.

Written consent of parent

A parent must consent in writing before a school employee may conduct a psychological examination, test or treatment (except with regard to investigation of child abuse), or make a video- or audiotape of a child (unless the recording is to be used only for safety purposes, co- or extracurricular activities, purposes related to regular classroom instruction, or media coverage of the school). A parent may remove the child temporarily from a class or activity that conflicts with the parent's religious or moral beliefs.