By Marc Fishman | April 2025

Dear Judge Schauer,

I am writing to remind you of my federal parental rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) mandate, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
These laws guarantee me equal access to my children’s education records—rights that cannot be restricted by any state court, opposing counsel, or former spouse.

Attached is a March 28, 2025 letter signed by U.S. Education Secretary Linda E. McMahon and the Student Privacy Policy Office confirming that schools receiving federal funding must provide both parents access to student records for children under 18. The Department warned that no state, judge, or attorney may lawfully interfere with that access.

Despite this, opposing counsel Virginia Foulkrod of Legal Services Hudson Valley has requested that the court restrict my access to the Mamaroneck School District records of my 16-year-old twins, Skye and Aidan Fishman.
That request is flatly illegal under FERPA, Section 504 of the ADA, and 34 C.F.R. § 99.4, and—if granted—will trigger a prompt federal lawsuit to defend my civil rights as a disabled parent.

Schools have a non-negotiable duty to provide records to both parents. This protection includes parents with cognitive or hearing disabilities who may require auxiliary aids or communication accommodations.

Your court has already been cited for civil-rights violations after denying me a notetaker, real-time transcription, and large-print materials—accommodations essential to my disabilities.
In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered you and the Office of Court Administration to provide those accommodations free of charge in case No. 20-1300.

There is no legal basis to block my access to my children’s educational information. Any such action would further parental alienation and violate federal law.

Moreover, attorneys from Legal Services Hudson Valley, who receive over $14 million annually in state and federal funds, cannot use public money to pursue relief that infringes on a disabled parent’s rights. Doing so breaches their own grant conditions under Section 504 of the ADA and Title II of the Civil Rights Act.

I urge the court to reject opposing counsel’s unlawful proposal and uphold my equal parental and disability rights. If this court allows further violations, I will have no choice but to notify the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, and other federal agencies of ongoing discrimination by Westchester Family Court.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Marc Fishman
Pro Se Disabled Father

Enclosure letter from susan McMahon that restricting access to student records is illegal under federal law