The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was passed in 1974 and revised in 1996. This act, also known as the Buckley Amendment, guarantees parents access to their children's education records and limits the disclosure of those records. The revised law regards most information that teachers, school administrators, and education…

This fourth lesson in a continuing education course on legal issues affecting libraries and librarians discusses the library's rights and legal responsibilities in the areas of censorship and intellectual freedom, the Freedom of Information Act and patron privacy, problem patrons, and ethical considerations of library services. (14 references)…

Review of employment laws affecting libraries includes definitions of qualified personnel, laws pertaining to medical and honesty testing, affirmative action, and sexual harassment. Laws covering crime within libraries are also discussed, as well as problems with existing legislation. (CLB)

In the last few years a variety of questions have arisen in the school context concerning the legal rights of persons seeking to record conversations. Guidance concerning the law governing these situations is based on the following conclusions: (1) neither the common law nor any federal law generally prohibits the tape recording of conversations…

In general, because of varying federal and state legislation and a paucity of court decisions, the law governing the recording of conversations is in considerable flux. School personnel desiring to record conversations in school without the consent or knowledge of all parties involved must proceed with considerable caution. (Author)

An edited version of federal district court Judge William O. Bertelsman's opinion in "Bahr vs. Jenkins" reveals his thinking on the courts' self-restraint in cases affecting school administrators' authority when disciplining students. The opinion also discusses, in an informal style, the rights and responsibilities of parties in such…

Provides guidelines for the development of campus computer policies, focusing on legal issues related to adult material, harassment, privacy, commerce, and copyright. Notes that computer use policies and practices need to evolve in concert with the changing computer culture. (MDM)

Newly hired teachers regularly have questions about whether their lifestyles and actions outside of school could have repercussions on their career. Because they are expected to be role models for their students and thus held to a higher level of discretion than the general citizenry, educators have had restrictions placed on their living…

The implications of applying state sunshine laws to state colleges and universities are examined. Considerations of political pressure, loss of privacy for individuals, difficulty in obtaining candid evaluations, and the threat of competition are cited. (MSE)

Legal issues relating to privacy at colleges and universities arise in a variety of contexts. Many of the laws addressing privacy on campus seem to embrace either of two conceptions of the university's role. According to one conception, universities should protect their students from the peering eyes of government and the public. Another set of…

This publication provides information and guidelines on the way Pennsylvania school boards should meet and conduct business under Act 84 of 1986 (the Sunshine Act) and Act 20 of 1993. The first section provides a brief history of the passage of the Sunshine Act, which mandates an open-meetings statute for public agencies. The second section offers…

The amount of knowledge that site and central office administrators possess about the ethical use of computer software in schools is assessed in this report. Specific questions addressed included the existence of related policies, administrators' knowledge of policies, and degree of site compliance. Four district and 10 site administrators were…

The focus of this chapter is on the substantive constitutional protections of the public school employment relationship guaranteed by the First Amendment, particularly freedom of speech, and by the Fourteenth Amendment's right to privacy. Included are burden-of-proof standards required for establishing a prima facie case of denial of these…

An award-winning law student article discusses the implications of a court decision concerning the legality of student searches on campus and the need for institutions to review their policies and attitudes toward increased scrutiny of student life. (MSE)

Confidentiality issues in cooperative relationships between schools and agencies providing services to children and families with special needs are examined. Introductory sections consider the need to share information and the nature of confidentiality restrictions. A section on overall information sharing considers: when to address the…