Education Records

Our Education Records are compiled from historical yearbook archives, state departments of education, and educator licensing databases. These records help document educational history and verify educator credentials.

• Coverage Historical yearbooks (1900s-2000s), All 50 States educator data
• Records 290+ Million yearbook records, 4+ Million educator credentials
• Sources Historical Yearbook Archives, State Dept. of Education, Educator License Databases
• Legal Basis Publicly published yearbooks, State licensing disclosure laws

What Are Education Records?

Education records, in the context of public data searches, encompass two primary categories of information: historical yearbook and school directory data, and publicly available educator licensing and certification records. These two categories serve very different purposes and originate from different sources, but together they provide a comprehensive picture of educational connections and professional credentials in the education sector.

Historical yearbook records are archival documents that have been digitized from physical yearbooks published by high schools, colleges, and universities across the United States. Yearbooks have been a staple of American educational culture since the mid-1800s, and the tradition of compiling annual student photographs, activity lists, and class rosters has created an enormous body of historical documentation. These records are valuable for genealogical research, alumni reconnection, background verification, and understanding the educational history of individuals.

Educator licensing records, on the other hand, are maintained by state departments of education as part of their regulatory responsibility to ensure that teachers, administrators, and other school professionals meet minimum qualifications. Every state requires public school educators to hold a valid license or certificate, and the details of these credentials are considered public information in most jurisdictions. This transparency allows parents, school administrators, and the general public to verify that educators working with students have met the necessary standards.

Types of Education Data Available

Teacher certifications and licenses form the largest category of educator-related public data. These records document the professional credentials held by classroom teachers, including their certification areas (such as elementary education, secondary mathematics, or special education), the grade levels they are qualified to teach, and the current status of their license. Most states maintain online lookup tools where anyone can verify whether an educator holds a valid license, and these databases collectively contain millions of records.

School yearbook records represent a unique and deeply personal category of education data. Yearbooks typically include individual student photographs, lists of extracurricular activities and sports teams, club memberships, academic honors, and sometimes brief biographical statements or quotes chosen by the students themselves. When digitized and indexed, these records create a searchable archive spanning more than a century of American educational history. Our database includes yearbook records from public and private schools across all 50 states, with coverage concentrated between the 1920s and the 2000s.

Alumni directories are publications created by educational institutions, typically colleges and universities, to help graduates stay connected with their alma mater and fellow alumni. These directories generally include the graduate's name, graduation year, degree earned, and sometimes their subsequent professional information. While newer directories may have more restricted distribution, historical alumni directories from decades past are widely available in library collections and archival repositories.

Administrative credential records cover school principals, assistant principals, superintendents, and other administrative professionals. These records often include additional information beyond basic licensing, such as the specific administrative endorsements held, the educational leadership programs completed, and the levels of administration the individual is qualified to perform.

What Information Is Included?

The specific data fields available in education records vary depending on the source. For yearbook records, the typical fields include the individual's name as it appeared in the yearbook, the name and location of the school, the year of publication, and the grade level or class year. Many yearbook records also include references to activities, sports, and organizations in which the individual participated. Digitized yearbook pages may preserve the original photograph alongside the text data.

For educator licensing records, the available information typically includes the educator's full legal name, the type of license or certificate held (such as professional, provisional, or emergency), the subject area endorsements on the license, the grade levels authorized, the issue and expiration dates of the credential, and the current status (active, inactive, expired, or revoked). Some states also publish the educator's employing school district, their highest degree earned, and the institution where they completed their teacher preparation program.

It is important to note that education records do not include grades, transcripts, disciplinary records, or other information that would be protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The data available through our service is limited to information that is either publicly published (yearbooks) or publicly disclosed by government agencies (educator licenses).

How Education Data Is Collected

Yearbook digitization is a large-scale archival effort that involves scanning physical yearbooks, applying optical character recognition (OCR) technology to extract text, and then indexing the results in searchable databases. Organizations including Ancestry.com, Classmates.com, and various university libraries have undertaken massive digitization projects over the past two decades, converting millions of yearbook pages into digital records. The process typically involves acquiring or borrowing physical yearbooks from schools, libraries, private collectors, and alumni associations, scanning each page at high resolution, and then using a combination of automated OCR and human review to accurately capture names, dates, and school information.

State departments of education are the primary source for educator licensing data. Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia operates its own educator credentialing system, with its own requirements, terminology, and databases. Some states maintain robust online lookup tools that allow the public to search for any licensed educator by name, while others provide bulk data downloads or respond to public records requests. The decentralized nature of educator licensing in the United States means that assembling a comprehensive national database requires collecting and normalizing data from more than 50 separate state-level systems, each with its own data format and update schedule.

Public records requests supplement the data available through online portals. When state databases do not provide all available fields through their public-facing websites, data aggregators may submit formal public records requests under state open records laws to obtain more complete datasets. These requests are grounded in the principle that educator licensing information is a matter of public record, as taxpayers fund public education and have a legitimate interest in knowing that their children's teachers are properly credentialed.

Understanding Educator License Records

Educator licensing in the United States is a complex system with significant variation from state to state. However, several common elements appear across most state systems. Understanding these elements helps interpret the records accurately.

Certification types generally fall into several tiers. A professional or standard certificate is the full, unrestricted license issued to educators who have completed all requirements, including a bachelor's degree (at minimum), a state-approved teacher preparation program, passing scores on required examinations such as the Praxis series, and successful completion of a student teaching experience. A provisional or initial certificate is typically issued to new educators who have met the educational requirements but have not yet completed all experience-based requirements. An emergency or temporary certificate may be issued when a school district cannot find a fully qualified candidate and needs to fill a position quickly. These emergency certificates usually carry additional restrictions and shorter terms.

Endorsement areas specify the subject areas and grade levels in which an educator is authorized to teach. A single educator may hold multiple endorsements. For example, a high school teacher might hold endorsements in both biology and chemistry, or an elementary teacher might have an additional endorsement in reading instruction or English as a Second Language (ESL). Endorsement requirements vary by state but typically involve completing specific coursework and passing a subject-area examination.

Renewal cycles are a key feature of educator licensing. Most states require educators to renew their licenses every three to ten years, with renewal contingent upon completing continuing education requirements. These requirements might include a specified number of professional development hours, completion of graduate coursework, or participation in mentoring programs. The renewal cycle ensures that educators stay current in their field and continue to develop their professional skills throughout their careers.

Privacy Considerations

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), enacted in 1974, is the primary federal law governing the privacy of student education records. FERPA protects student records maintained by educational institutions that receive federal funding, which includes virtually all public schools and most private colleges and universities. Under FERPA, schools may not disclose personally identifiable information from student education records without the written consent of the parent (for students under 18) or the student (for students 18 and older).

However, FERPA's protections apply specifically to records maintained by educational institutions in their official capacity, not to all information that relates to education. Yearbooks, for example, are publicly distributed publications, not confidential student records. A yearbook purchased at a school bookstore or found in a public library is not subject to FERPA restrictions. Similarly, information that a student voluntarily shares publicly, such as participation in a varsity sport (which is typically announced at games and published in local newspapers), is not protected under FERPA.

Educator licensing records occupy a different legal space entirely. Because educators are professionals licensed by the state, their credential information is subject to state open records laws rather than FERPA. The public has a recognized interest in being able to verify the qualifications of individuals entrusted with the education of children, and state legislatures have consistently treated educator licensing data as public information. This is analogous to other professional licensing contexts: just as medical licenses, law licenses, and real estate licenses are public records, so too are educator credentials.

Our database excludes protected student records such as grades, transcripts, test scores, disciplinary records, financial aid information, and special education records. The education data we provide is limited to information that is lawfully available to the general public through published materials and government disclosure.

Frequently Asked Questions