Q: A minor at your school has been arrested of a crime you think is important enough to report on because it involves the student council president and has implications to your school and community. You have obtained the police report. A parent of that student tells you over the phone that they intend to… Continue reading Ask SPLC: A student was arrested, can I use their name in my story?
Tag: privacy
Virginia governor signs two bills which limit access to student records
On Feb. 19, House Bill 1 passed the Virginia Senate with a 38-2 vote. The bill will now go back to the House for approval of changes made by the Senate.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: “Personal privacy” exception to open-records access can’t be allowed to swallow the rule
Government obfuscation in the face of requests for public records can be irritating. At times, maddening.
Google never forgets: Seventh Circuit finds no right to force search engines to block access to embarrassing public records
The ability of search engines to dredge up unflattering facts has provoked global debate over whether people should have a legal "right to be forgotten" -- that is, a right to demand that embarrassing personal details be taken offline.
Reporting on Steubenville rape case a timely reminder on publishing names of juveniles, crime victims
In the explosion of media coverage accompanying Sunday's judgment against two teenage Ohio student athletes in the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl, at least one broadcast news outlet aired courtroom footage in which the victim's name was audible.
Privacy suit against Wash. school district ends favorably for student newspaper
A long-running Washington lawsuit, attempting to hold a public school liable for embarrassing facts published in a student-run newspaper, has concluded with no liability for the school.The Washington Supreme Court decided Jan.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: It’s a deal — settlement agreements must be made public
A college employee is accused of wrongdoing, and fights to keep his job. Rather than drag out the hostilities, both sides agree on a buyout, and the employee quietly goes away.Or maybe it's the other way around.
New social media privacy protection laws take effect for the New Year
It's a happier new year in California, Michigan and Illinois, where the privacy of social networking sites gains new legal protection today.Effective January 1, it's illegal for employers in those three states to demand the login or password information for employees' or applicants' personal social media pages.
Parents, educators make noise after Oklahoma board posts students’ private records
Some would call it a catch 22 – respect the privacy of high school students’ records or adhere to Open Records Act obligations?
Privacy group’s challenge to Department of Education FERPA regs could hamper school accountability
Today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution features a multi-part investigative blockbuster that uses computer-assisted reporting to identify suspiciously sharp gains in student aptitude test scores in districts across the country -- gains that, in Atlanta, were found to be evidence of widespread cheating by administrators and teachers.According to the AJC findings, about 200 school districts nationwide -- including schools in Houston, St.