# High School and Your "Permanent Record" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 7, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209 "2009-07-07T16:41:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/1 "2009-07-07T16:41:02Z")
More than once in high school I was reminded that some misdeed would go on my “permanent record.” However, as an adult I have never once been made to account for something I did in high school. My offenses were not minor (suspended on more than one occasion), but they were not criminal either, so that might have made a difference. Nevertheless, I got accepted to every college I applied to, managed to graduate, and have had a decent career, my high school pecadillos notwithstanding. Do schools in the US maintain “permanent records” of their students’ actions, or is this just an empty threat made by teachers to keep kids in line? And if so, do these records actually mean anything, or are they just pages in a file cabinet? ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/2 "2009-07-07T17:20:03Z")
Did you really think your permanent record would have an effect on your life post-school? In cases where the student is college-bound, yes, it could have an effect on college admissions. And, when you’re very young, you might think there would be repercussions later in that unknown territory of high school. It could in some rare cases where honors or election to societies was involved. For example, when a student was up for National Honor Society when I was in school, a single faculty member could black-ball him/her. So, yes, if you had something nasty in your record, I could see that being relevant. Other than us high-achievers, though … no one I knew had any great fear of “the permanent record” after about the 6th grade. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/3 "2009-07-07T17:51:33Z")
Doesn’t the _Book of Revelations_ have a permenent record of sort? It might be another book, but God has written down all your bad and good deeds and then looks them over? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/4 "2009-07-07T17:55:44Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Doesn’t the _Book of Revelations_ have a permenent record of sort? It might be another book, but God has written down all your bad and good deeds and then looks them over? I’m picturing a _Far Side_-esque scene at the pearly gates, where St. Peter has **HeyHomie** ’s permanent record in hand and is saying, “Now, about this stuff you did in high school…” ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/5 "2009-07-07T17:59:31Z")
You don’t think the permanent record means anything?? Try running for president. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/6 "2009-07-07T18:06:40Z")
Some of that stuff on your permanent record could have you sent to Monster Island. (But don’t worry, it’s just a name.) ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/7 "2009-07-07T18:19:34Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > You don’t think the permanent record means anything?? Try running for president. Does an individual high school retain “permanent records” from it’s students that graduated 30-40 years ago? If they did, are they even authorized to release them? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/8 "2009-07-07T18:43:06Z")
I hope you know that this OP will go down on your permanent record… Oh yeah? Well, don’t get so distressed. Did I happen to mention that I’m impressed? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/9 "2009-07-07T19:03:10Z")
> [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > Does an individual high school retain “permanent records” from it’s students that graduated 30-40 years ago? If they did, are they even authorized to release them? We have files on **every student** who has ever attended the school at which I teach. They can be released only under very specific conditions, to very specific people/agencies. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/10 "2009-07-07T19:59:01Z")
I was evaluating document scanners a few years ago. The company I was speaking with sold scanners as well as providing scanning services. They were scanning records from St. Louis University High School that were from the late 1800’s. So in a way, there is a permanent record. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/11 "2009-07-07T20:03:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > We have files on **every student** who has ever attended the school at which I teach. They can be released only under very specific conditions, to very specific people/agencies. Can you give some examples? I went through HS pretty much unnoticed, but I can’t imagine anything I did in HS still being relevant to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/12 "2009-07-07T20:16:59Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > We have files on **every student** who has ever attended the school at which I teach. They can be released only under very specific conditions, to very specific people/agencies. What’s in them? My parents got transcripts from their high school for some reason when I was a teenager (at least 30 years after they had graduated from high school). I just remember them being transcripts, though, not anything about behavior. I remember my dad’s had a space for IQ, but nobody had written his down in it. Do you really keep records of students getting into trouble for behaving badly (as I always assumed you did when I was in school), and are those saved after a student graduates? If you do keep records like that, how serious does the infraction have to be to get into that record? I imagine there isn’t a record of every time a teacher told a student to be quiet in class, but do you have a record of, say, every time a kid has been sent to the principal’s office? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/13 "2009-07-07T20:33:27Z")
Most colleges, as far as I can tell, request a transcript from the high school, and most high schools send a transcript listing the courses you took and what grades you got in them, along with officially sanctioned extracurricular activities, and possibly prizes, awards, and placement test scores. Disciplinary records are not generally part of the transcript, although policies differ on suspension/expulsion. In some states it’s illegal to report these things; some colleges ask directly whether an applicant has ever been expelled or suspended. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/14 "2009-07-07T20:42:30Z")
I read not too long ago about my old school district’s policy: it all goes away after a surprisingly short period of time. Something on the order of 5 years. After that, all they have is if you attended/graduated. Such records are considered a potential liability if they get copied or are found incorrect. Permanent, shermanent. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/15 "2009-07-07T20:47:48Z")
I was left alone in a guidance counselor’s office while a I was a senior and had a chance to peruse my file. It had notes on behavior issues back to elementary school. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/16 "2009-07-07T20:53:02Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I was left alone in a guidance counselor’s office while a I was a senior and had a chance to peruse my file. It had notes on behavior issues back to elementary school. I did the same thing. It had copies of report cards from elementary school, (same school district), copies of mazes I drew in Kindergarten where I had to stay in the middle of the maze lines (still don’t know what that was about) and a copy of my Mr. Peanut award certificate from the 2nd grade \ ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/17 "2009-07-07T20:57:45Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I was left alone in a guidance counselor’s office while a I was a senior and had a chance to peruse my file. It had notes on behavior issues back to elementary school. Had you been in the same school district all that time? I moved from one county to another between fourth and fifth grade (both in Maryland, if it makes a difference). Would my new school district in fifth grade likely have gotten records from the old one? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/18 "2009-07-07T21:01:02Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Had you been in the same school district all that time? I moved from one county to another between fourth and fifth grade (both in Maryland, if it makes a difference). Would my new school district in fifth grade likely have gotten records from the old one? I had, yes. I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t follow you from one school to another, though. Those folks have a pretty keen interest in knowing if a student has always been well-behaved until now or if they’ve always been a problem. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/19 "2009-07-07T21:12:30Z")
So could one request a copy of their own record? I got in a lot of trouble in middle school and high school and it would be pretty amusing having documentation to show for it. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209/20 "2009-07-07T21:17:03Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > So could one request a copy of their own record? I got in a lot of trouble in middle school and high school and it would be pretty amusing having documentation to show for it. [The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974](http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html) says you can at least see it, if your school got funding from the Department of Education. They don’t have to provide you a copy, though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-and-your-permanent-record/502209.md?page=2)