Presents a summary of guidelines for the use of electronic mail (e-mail) and examines legal issues and existing law governing electronic communication. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 is discussed, lawsuits involving e-mail are described, and the future of e-mail privacy is considered. (11 references) (LRW)

Crisis intervention procedures can potentially conflict with students' right to privacy as defined by law and American School Counselor Association ethical standards. Principals are encouraged to work with their counseling staff and other pupil personnel workers to explore ethically appropriate means to serve students in crisis without violating…

A conference of 200 women college presidents focused on a variety of issues of interest to women, such as peace, poverty, children, and the environment and also on the complications their gender creates in their administrative roles. Lack of personal privacy emerged as a primary concern. (MSE)

Suggested institutional guidelines for faculty research on American Indians include researcher behaviors related to obtaining tribal approval of the research proposal, being sensitive to cultural mores and privacy issues, giving fair return to informants, communicating anticipated consequences of research to participants, and allowing tribal…

This lecture by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada addresses issues related to information technology and privacy, including privacy law, government role, surveillance techniques, and security measures to protect the privacy of electronic communications. The text of the question and answer period following the lecture is included. (MES)

Asks whether proponents' justifications for using metal detectors to counteract school violence are compelling enough to override students' privacy interests. Concludes that there are serious constitutional concerns raised by using metal detectors. The rationale for upholding school searches in other contexts does not apply to metal-detector…

Notes that state legislatures across the country are lowering the ages at which the names of those arrested for, charged with, or found guilty of a crime may be made public. Describes how one newspaper staff in an Iowa high school decided to publish the names of students arrested at a large beer party. (SR)

Examines Internet security risks and how users can protect themselves. Discusses inadvertent bugs in software; programming problems with Common Gateway Interface (CGI); viruses; tracking of Web users; and preventing access to selected Web pages and filtering software. A glossary of Internet security-related terms is included. (AEF)

Examines the established data protection policy in the United Kingdom, to provide some context and background against which to judge existing and evolving U.S. policies. The Data Protection Act of 1984, the Council of Europe Convention on Data Protection, and the European Union Data Protection Directive are discussed. Online sources of further…

Describes a complex court case involving a Massachusetts elementary teacher whose contract was not renewed because she was cohabiting with a suspected (but eventually exonerated) child abuser. School officials should resist the knee-jerk reaction to terminate a teacher's contract on the grounds of narrow, homogeneous community values regarding…

These six articles related to government information policies in New Zealand cover topics including policy reform, legislation, the office of privacy commissioner, organizing statistics, the restructuring of the National Archives of New Zealand, and the policy role of the national library. (BEW)

Presents issues and questions involved in online privacy from the information professional's perspective. Topics include consumer concerns; query confidentiality; securing computers from intrusion; electronic mail; search engines; patents and intellectual property searches; government's role; Internet service providers; database mining; user…

Accused persons defending charges of sexual assault and related offenses sometimes seek to review confidential records, such as student records, pertaining to the complainant or witnesses. In 1997, the Canadian Parliament amended the criminal code to create a new procedure for such situations; its constitutionality was upheld in 1999. Details of…

Explains why campus security officials consider locker rooms and restrooms the bane of their jobs, and offers a formula for protecting property and privacy at the same time: first secure the entire building, then zero in on specifics. Describes various security options for these campus areas. (EV)

In 2001, the Supreme Court upheld equal access for student religious groups meeting at school facilities, declared graduation prayer unlawful, agreed to resolve a peer-grading dispute, may consider constitutionality of a Cleveland educational voucher program, and upheld authors in a database copyright lawsuit. (MLH)