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Tenn. passes law requiring colleges to disclose some campus crime records
Public colleges must now release disciplinary records of students found responsible for violent crimes, nonforcible sex offenses
© 2004 Student Press Law Center
March 16, 2004
TENNESSEE
— Gov. Phil Bredesen signed a law March 12 that amends the Tennessee
Open Records Act to require state public colleges and universities to disclose
certain campus crime information, signaling a victory for lawmakers who were
foiled in their effort to achieve the same results from legislation enacted last
year.
State Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, and state Rep. Harry Brooks,
R-Knoxville, co-sponsored the bill, which mandates disclosure of three types of
student disciplinary records. The first is the final results of disciplinary
actions where a student is found responsible for a violent crime or nonforcible
sex offense. The second is information about a student who is a registered sex
offender. Information in those two categories is available to the public and to
victims under the law. The final category of information relates to violations
of any law or rule governing the use or possession of alcohol or drugs by a
student under the age of 21. However, such information will be disclosed only to
the student's parent or legal guardian.
The law will take effect July
1.
Sen. Burchett sponsored a similar bill in the Tennessee General Assembly in
2003, which also passed and was signed by Gov. Bredesen. However, the state
attorney general later issued an advisory opinion that the language of the bill
allowed disclosure, but did not require it, as Burchett had
intended.
Burchett subsequently introduced Senate Bill 2098 on Jan. 13
with new language requiring disclosure.
“The bill is important
because we have students who are committing serious crimes and the bureaucrats
at these universities try to keep it quiet to keep attendance up,”
Burchett said of the latest bill.
Schools still must comply with the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that penalizes schools
for releasing student records without authorization. FERPA was amended in 1998
to allow disclosure of the types of records described above. However, unlike the
new Tennessee law, FERPA does not require disclosure.
Journalists and
campus crime disclosure advocates hailed the legislation as a step in the right
direction. They hope the law will lead to greater openness and safety at
Tennessee college and university campuses.
Carolyn S. Carlson, vice
chairwoman of the Society of Professional Journalist’s subcommittee on
campus crime, approves of the step Tennessee has taken and hopes that other
states will follow in its path.
“I think all states should make it
clear that their open-records laws require public schools to disclose the final
disciplinary results of sex crimes and other crimes of violence,” she
said.
For More Information: View the text of Senate Bill 2098.
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