Our current federal postsecondary data system is incomplete and fails to provide today's students with the accurate, timely information that they need to inform their college choices and promote their success. As policymakers consider proposals to improve this federal data system, it is critical that they work in tandem to protect students'…

This paper examines how the U.S. Privacy Protection Commission functioned. Examined are its basic authority, procedures and policies, operational plan, distinctive features, staffing, and results of recommendations. Created by an act of Congress in 1974, the Commission was authorized to examine all actual and potential invasions of privacy in the…

Reviews the laws governing access to employee records including the U.S. Constitution, especially the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Bill of Rights; the National Labor Relations Act; the Privacy Act of 1974; state privacy statutes; and common-law privacy protections from court opinions. Recommendations for management actions are included. (EM)

This report explains how to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act of 1974. It reflects all changes to the laws made since 1977: major amendments to the Freedom of Information Act passed in 1974 and 1986; a major addition to the Privacy Act of 1974 was enacted in 1988; and minor amendments to the Privacy Act were made in…

An important federal statute impacting student records is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), enacted to ensure student/parent access to education records and to limit disclosures to others for unauthorized purposes. FERPA Regulations set forth the basic federal records retention and destruction requirements. The records of…

This report considers the privacy issues raised by the growth of the new technology being applied to the personal information collected, maintained, and disseminated by the Federal Government. Four major areas are addressed: (1) technological developments relevant to government record systems; (2) current and prospective Federal agency use of…

The first of two articles on privacy considers its development in U.S. tort law and its social and ethical aspects in the context of changing technology. The second, by Linowes and Bennett, examines the role of data-protection as a policy problem using the concepts and approaches of political science. (Author/EM)

In order to examine the implementation of the Privacy Act of 1974 by federal government agencies, the General Accounting Office (GAO) examined organizational issues at 13 cabinet-level departments and the Veterans Administration and reviewed Privacy Act operations in detail at 6 of these agencies and 37 of their components. This study focused on…

In view of the dramatic increase in the numbers of laws and lawsuits since the 1960s, teachers must become aware of the privacy considerations and potential legal problems that may arise when writing a letter of recommendation or giving a verbal reference. They should become familiar with present common law doctrine and recent legislation…

This report provides administrators, project leaders, and researchers with information about major federal regulations governing research in the social sciences. The report is presented in five major chapters. Chapter I identifies the report's limitations. For example, it describes only statutory and regulatory provisions and covers only domestic…

In this policy briefing, the technological developments of recent years are linked to the erosion of individuals' informational privacy under the press of bureaucratic efficiency and the ever-growing needs of executive agencies for more information. It is noted that privacy protection within federal agencies may entail costs, and therefore, may be…

Concern is growing over the problems of freedom of information, individual right to privacy, and automated recordkeeping systems. As a guide to policy considerations for overview and for detail, this extensive structured bibliography of privacy and disclosure literature adopts a topical scheme, dividing the subject first into governmental and…