Do work samples count as educational records?

Work samples are not typically kept in student records either. None of the statutes that regulate student records (FERPA, IDEA, the California Education Code, and the California Administrative Code, Title 5) specifically require that your child’s assignments be maintained by the school.

You can request that your child’s work samples are provided with their records, at least to the extent that these assignments are already “kept and maintained by the educational agency.” A parent could argue that any work sample brought by a teacher to an IEP meeting to demonstrate your child’s performance should then be maintained in their student file, and available upon request. At the same time, it would be unrealistic for a school to save and file every work sample ever made by every student.

For more information, see our article Requesting Your Child’s Educational Records.