FERPA is also known as the Buckley Amendment. It aims to protect students' privacy interests through standards for record keeping designed to encourage inappropriate disclosure. FERPA covers almost every public primary and secondary school, as well as public and private universities and colleges. Distorted perceptions about FERPA have prevented communications between schools and other agencies regarding violent juveniles. However, FERPA was not intended to eliminate communication between educators and government agencies. FERPA provides several exceptions to its requirement for prior parental consent; these exceptions clearly convey the legislative intent that educators be allowed to exchange information with other agencies on a timely basis as specific needs arise. These and other considerations reveal that FERPA now poses few if any difficulties to educators' efforts to use and exchange information on violent juveniles. A routine, effective system of sharing information helps ensure that no agency is isolated in its efforts to serve juveniles, that scarce resources are used more effectively, and that a juvenile in need of attention will receive it. Appended FERPA text, clarifying regulations, and reference notes