When it comes to public records, schools can’t hide behind the insurance company

Despite all its good intentions, the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act has often been misused by schools to deny any number of valid open records requests, leaving a string of court cases to interpret the law.A recent decision out of Arizona ended with a judge ruling a school district couldn’t claim a FERPA exemption on a settlement agreement with a former student who was strip-searched by school officials.The history on that case goes back many years and is well worth delving into, notably the Supreme Court ruling 8-1 that the girl’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated.

ACLU claims Calif. district allowed “prolonged, coercive interrogations” of student journalists

The Davis Joint Unified School District in California is facing criticism after two high school journalists were pulled out of class and questioned by police.Alana de Hinojosa, editor in chief of The HUB newspaper at Davis High School, wrote an article last spring exploring the artistic value and criminal implications of graffiti.

University of Kentucky Athletics takes heat for pulling student reporter’s access

The University of Kentucky is facing backlash after the UK athletics department punished the Kernel student newspaper by revoking its invitation to a special media event.After freshman forward Anthony Davis circulated a Twitter post welcoming walk-ons Brian Long and Sam Malone to the team Sunday night, Kernel managing editor Aaron Smith wanted to confirm the news from the players.