A view is presented concerning the Florida Sunshine Law as it applies to the issue of personnel recruitment in higher education administration at state-sponsored institutions. Consideration is given to the literature and personal experience with candidates for a state university administrative position and the associated search committee members.…

News media representatives foresee a growing use of remote-sensing satellites to gather data, including data that could be used to check government claims about military and other activities occurring anywhere on the planet. The satellite technology is developing rapidly, and several nations and private corporations are involved in separate…

The impact of sunshine laws on college governance is discussed based on field and legal research, a Wingspread symposium (Racine, Wisconsin, September 4-5, 1984), and a follow-up meeting (Washington, D.C., October 1, 1984). In addition to open meeting laws, the way that the democratic process currently operates, and should work, is examined. A…

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…

Elected officials, justice professionals, courts and other institutions of our society are contributing to a reevaluation of juvenile justice information policy. The tenet that juveniles who commit crimes are not culpable is being challenged as the public's safety and economic well being is increasingly threatened by children engaged in criminal…

Widespread use of interpretive research in studies of teaching and learning has highlighted a number of crucial ethical and legal issues. Although these issues have always been a concern for researchers, use of small samples and detailed analyses of teaching and learning have brought previously hidden aspects of teaching and learning into the…

A national symposium was held October 4-7, 1981, to explore the relationships among law, ethics, and informational technology as they relate to the individual's informational privacy. The introduction to this report describes the conference format; discusses the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Freedom of Information Act; and offers definitions of…

Two papers on copyright and privacy considerations of international information transfer were presented at the 1982 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference. In "Findings of the IFLA International Study on the Copyright of Bibliographic Records in Machine-Readable Form," Dennis D. McDonald, Eleanor Jo Rodger,…

Because of judicial indifference and legislative inaction, the conflict between the right of privacy and the freedom of the press is no closer to a resolution than it was a century ago. William Prosser's reduction of the common law of privacy into four separate torts has not solved the problem. The concept of "newsworthiness" has not been helpful…

Since opposition to media coverage of local government can be powerful, a reporter covering municipal and county affairs in Iowa should be familiar with access to information laws. Chapter 28A of the Iowa Code provides that "reasonable" public notice precede all governing board meetings and specifies that the time, date, place, and…

Intended to provide practical suggestions for reporters and editors, this manual presents the basic law of libel and invasion of privacy in the United States. Following an introduction noting that these are general principles of law and do not fully represent the laws of each state, the guide discusses various aspects of libel law: (1) definitions…

The model policy and rules presented here were based on the final rules concerning education records appearing in the "Federal Register" and are designed to help those developing and implementing local policy and rules. The model policy is a short statement of direction concerning student records. The rules, covering 21 different areas,…

During the first half of 1977, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) initiated a survey of State laws pertaining to the privacy and security of research and statistical information. Two data collection procedures were employed: a library search of State Statutes, and written inquiries to State Attorneys General and to other State…

There are differences between biomedical and educational research. The procedures associated with the protection of research participants cannot be transplanted from the medical setting into the educational setting in unmodified fashion without dislocation of many segments of educational research and development. (Author/EB)

Conflicts between mandated recordkeeping requirements and the ever increasing demands for disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act, administrative agency investigations, and law suits are examined. Implications for privacy legislation to protect employee rights are discussed. (LBH)