Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Compliance Statement

Effective Date: November 3rd, 2025

This FERPA Compliance Statement explains how ParentSignature.com, operated by Signature API, Inc., supports compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) when used by teachers, schools, and educational organizations.

ParentSignature.com is a free, no-account service that helps educators collect electronic signatures on school forms such as permission slips and consent documents.

We designed the Service to handle student-related information securely, temporarily, and in accordance with FERPA requirements.

1. What Is FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a U.S. federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

FERPA applies to all schools and educational agencies that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education and governs how student information may be accessed, shared, and disclosed.

2. Our Role Under FERPA

When a teacher or school uses ParentSignature.com, the school remains the data controller of all student-related information.

ParentSignature.com, operated by Signature API, Inc., acts as a "school official" under FERPA, performing a legitimate educational function by securely transmitting and collecting signatures on behalf of the school.

We do not:

  • Own or control any education records.
  • Maintain permanent student data.
  • Use information for marketing, profiling, or analytics.
  • Sell or share student data with third parties.

Use of ParentSignature.com does not transfer a school's FERPA responsibilities. Schools remain responsible for determining whether the use of electronic signatures complies with their own FERPA policies and for providing any required notices or consents.

Signature API, Inc. operates both ParentSignature.com and SignatureAPI under the same security and privacy standards; data from ParentSignature.com is not used to improve, train, or develop SignatureAPI systems beyond what is necessary to provide the Service.

3. Data Handling Practices

ParentSignature.com is built to minimize exposure of student information.

Our data handling approach includes:

  • No registration or login. The Service does not require user accounts.
  • Temporary processing only. Uploaded forms and signature data are stored only as needed to complete the signing process.
  • Automatic deletion. After successful delivery to both the teacher and the parent, documents and related data are scheduled for deletion and are typically deleted within 30 days.
  • Encryption. All transmissions occur over HTTPS, and any temporary storage is encrypted using modern standards.
  • Access limits. Only authorized system processes have access to files during the signature workflow.

4. Data Entered by Parents and FERPA

When a parent enters student information to complete a school form, that data is transmitted securely to ParentSignature.com solely for the purpose of generating the document and collecting a signature.

All information is handled in accordance with FERPA's confidentiality requirements, and ParentSignature.com processes such data solely on behalf of the school as part of the school's education record system during transmission and processing.

Once the signed form is delivered to both the teacher and the parent, any temporary data associated with the signing process is scheduled for deletion and is typically deleted within 30 days.

ParentSignature.com does not maintain or archive this data in any database or long-term storage.

All communication occurs over encrypted HTTPS connections, and technical safeguards are used to protect the information while it is in transit and during processing.

For convenience, parents may choose to store certain information locally (for example, a child's name or contact details) on their own device so it can be automatically filled into future forms.

This data remains entirely under the parent's control, is never required, and is never transmitted to ParentSignature.com except when the parent submits a form.

Parents can clear this information at any time by deleting their browser cookies or local storage.

5. School and Teacher Responsibilities

Teachers and schools are responsible for ensuring their use of ParentSignature.com complies with FERPA and local school or district policies.

This includes confirming that any forms sent for signature are appropriate for electronic delivery and that no unnecessary personal information is included.

ParentSignature.com operates solely as a technical intermediary, processing information under the direction of the school and for no other purpose.

6. Parent and Student Rights

Parents and eligible students retain all rights under FERPA regarding access, amendment, and consent to disclosure of educational records.

Requests to review or correct student information should be made directly to the school or teacher, as ParentSignature.com does not control or maintain those records.

7. Contact

Questions regarding FERPA compliance or data handling can be directed to contact@parentsignature.com.