Tag: Fall 2000

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Under new guidelines issued by the Department of Education in July, colleges and universities can no longer use the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as justification for their refusal to release the results of certain campus disciplinary proceedings.

The new guidelines make it clear that schools do not violate FERPA -- a law enacted to protect the privacy of students' educational records -- if they release the names of students found guilty of violent crimes and nonforcible sex offenses in the campus court system, unless prevented from doing so by a state law or other legal mandate.

Since the rules took effect August 7, schools are now allowed to provide the final results of disciplinary proceedings in which a student is found to be in violation of school rules for allegedly committing a crime of violence or nonforcible sex offense.

Didi Farmer wanted her high school yearbook to reflect real life.

Editor Farmer and her staff did not shy away from covering controversial issues like teen sex in their school yearbook.

CALIFORNIA -- When Fresno City College student Ryan Bowler had his submission to the campus magazine The Ram's Tale rejected by faculty advisers out of fear it would offend the school's administration, he decided to use another publication to get the word out about what he calls an attempt to "regulate the student press and subsequently control the student body."

In a commentary published by The Fresno Bee in May, Bowler accused school officials of threatening to withhold monetary support from The Ram's Tale if student editors printed material that offended administrators.

IOWA -- Colleges and universities not willing to loosen their hold on campus crime statistics may be forced to loosen their purse strings to pay steep fines if a ruling by the Department of Education is allowed to stand.

Mount St.

TEXAS -- A high school senior barred from attending his own graduation agreed to a $150,000 settlement with his school district in May.

Former Midland High School student Casey Riggan was not allowed to go to his graduation after he refused to turn over a photograph taken of his principal's car outside a female teacher's house over a year ago.

ARIZONA -- An ad hoc student newspaper advisory committee at Yavapai College claims it is seeking to upgrade the standards of the school's newspaper, but the paper's former editor thinks the college president is trying to gain editorial control over the paper after the publication of several controversial articles.

Editors at The Rough Rider received a memo announcing the formation of the committee to establish more comprehensive guidelines and professional standards.

MISSOURI -- In a lawsuit filed in January, a Kansas City television station claims that the University of Missouri system's board of curators and some university administrators are in violation of the state's Sunshine Law for not providing a reporter with access to information regarding crimes that occurred on Missouri campuses between 1996 and 1999.

Attorney Jean Maneke, representing WDAF/Fox 4, said the requested records are from campus disciplinary hearings dealing with crimes of violence and nonforcible sex offenses, but that the newly released FERPA guidelines do not affect the case.

CALIFORNIA -- An article on sex education in the Granite Bay High School student newspaper caused one group of parents and at least one school board member to question the First Amendment rights of student journalists.

The Granite Bay Gazette published an article in April detailing how little some high school students know about their own bodies.

Student editors decided to publish the story after a new state education law took effect Jan.

ILLINOIS -- Members of the Des Plaines cable commission are seeking to develop obscenity standards for local public-access cable stations after a Harper College student's television program offended some citizens.

The sometimes vulgar and profane "Static Experience" is broadcast after-hours by AT&T-owned Channel 35, which currently imposes no editorial restrictions on its programs.

TENNESSEE -- The state's campus crime reporting code was amended in February to require colleges to report all felonies and Class A misdemeanors committed on campus to appropriate local law enforcement agencies.

The act goes beyond current federal laws, which require only that schools include such incidents in their police logs.