Chief justice Cody Coll told the student reporters that they could not photograph or record the court hearing Tuesday because it violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the federal student privacy law. The reporters were also asked to delete all information gathered before their dismissal from the court.
The Committee on Education held a hearing Wednesday to discuss a bill to prohibit college employees from including their job titles on columns they wrote about state politics for newspapers.
The bill, which Rep. Alex Looysen, a Republican, introduced on Jan. 19, would enhance students’ freedom of expression in school-sponsored media, preventing schools from citing the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier precedent. The bill would protect students in both public K-12 schools and colleges.
One bill would require state-related universities — institutions that receive taxpayer dollars but get a majority of their funding from private donors — to create online databases disclosing budget, salary and contract information. The other bill would require campus police departments at all universities to comply with the same open records requirements as municipal police departments.
In a brief filed Wednesday, the Student Press Law Center challenges the University of Montana’s attempts to withhold the records of a student disciplinary appeal involving a high-profile athlete accused of sexual assault.
Taking steps to protect students’ privacy rights online, Maryland lawmakers heard on Wednesday a bill that could prohibit school officials from digging through students’ personal social media accounts for incriminating information.
The legislation would enhance students’ freedom of expression in school-sponsored media regardless of school funding, preventing administrators from invoking the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier precedent.
The United States fell three places in the index after a tumultuous year for American journalists, according to the nonprofit organization, which works to promote freedom of information and freedom of the press.
When George “Trey” Barnett was suspended from the University of Tulsa without a disciplinary hearing for violating the institution’s harassment policy and for sharing information about his pending disciplinary case, he asked the student newspaper to investigate.