How to Determine What Rights Minors Have Under the Privacy Law

The privacy rights of minors are protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act laws. The privacy rule under HIPAA outlines regulations for parental control and access to a minor's medical records, as well as information about discretion when a minor controls his or her own medical records. FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, designates parental rights to their children's educational records and transfers these rights to minors once they have turned 18 or have graduated high school.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with Internet access

Instructions

Determine the Privacy Rights of Minors Under the Privacy Law

1. Get accurate information about the health information rights of minors by reading the HIPAA statute located on the Health and Human Services Web site (see Resources below).

2. Call the Office of Civil Rights if you cannot find the information you need about health information privacy laws for minors. Their toll free number is [phone].

3. Review rights to determine what educational records should be given to minors through FERPA on the U.S. Department of Education Web site (see Resources below). Parents and emancipated students have the right to review and correct school records, and may also access directory information kept and shared by the school.

4. Telephone the Department of Education's Family Policy Compliance Office for additional information or assistance with FERPA laws and guidelines. Leave a voicemail message at [phone].

5. File a written complaint with the Office for Civil Rights if you feel a minor's privacy rights covered under HIPAA were violated. Instructions can be found at the OCR Web site (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• Understand that most privacy rights designated for minors concerning protected information are exercised by parents or legal guardians. Some states determine how much access parents can have to records, so research for each state's specific law is needed.