8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 1/18
Privacy Issues:Community,
Educators, andStudents
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 2/18
T he Definition
T he definition of the right of privacyis simply ´ the right to be left aloneµ.
But in our society there is often acountervailing right to know.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 3/18
T he Purpose
T he purpose of this chapter is toexamine the interplay betweenprivacy and the right to know in thecontext of T exas public schools.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 4/18
T he Legal Framework
T he most specific reference to privacy in the U.SConstitution is found in the fourth Amendment,which states that ´ the right of people to be securein their persons, houses, papers, and effects, againstunreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but uponprobable cause, supported by oath or affirmation,and particularly describing the place to be searched,
and the persons or things to be seized.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 5/18
T he Legal Framework cont.
T he federal privacy law affecting education is the 1974 Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act, also known as the Buckley Amendment. Unlike the fourth and the fourteenth amendments, FERPAapplies to any educational institutionreceiving federal funds. FERPA regulates
student record keeping activities by giving parents and students access to studentrecords, and the right to challenge thematerial contained therein.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 6/18
T he Legal Framework cont.
T he law of torts (civil wrongs committed byone person against another) has had the
most to do with privacy. T exas courts recognized four personal
privacy torts but have been restricteddamage awards to situations where the
person bringing suit can show.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 7/18
T he T exas Open Meetings and Public Information Acts
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 8/18
T he T exas Open Meetings Act ( T OMA) and T exas Public Information Act ( T PIA)
T he T exas Open Meetings Act( T OMA) and the T exas PublicInformation Act ( T PIA) seem to be instate of tension with evolving privacylaw because they are designed tofurther public access to governmentbusiness.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 9/18
T exas Open Meetings Act
Chapter 551 of the T exasGovernment Code requires that
meetings of governmental bodies,such as the school board and aspecial education co-operative, beopen to the public.
Ch. 1 states that T OMA applies to the governing boards of open-enrollment charter schools, as well.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 10/18
T exas Open Meetings Act cont.
T he law applies to a committee composedof one or more members of the board of
trustees of a school district that meets todiscuss public business or policy.
T he T OMA definition of ´meetingµencompasses staff briefing sessions where
board members receive information from or give information to a third party, including employees, as well as engage in questioning.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 11/18
T exas Open Meetings Act cont.
T he law explicitly spells out thenotice requirements regarding open
meetings. Written notice of the date,place, and subject of each meeting must be posted on a bulletin boardconvenient to the public in the
central administration buildings atleast seventy-two hours before themeeting.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 12/18
T exas Open Meetings Act cont.
Public meetings are those at whichpublic business or public policy is
discussed or at which formal actionis taken.
A closed meeting is required when a
school board discusses academicskills assessment instruments.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 13/18
T exas Public Information Act
Formerly known as the T exas Open Records Act and modeled after the
federal Freedom of Information Act, the T exas Public Information Act isa companion to the complex openmeetings measure.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 14/18
Educator Privacy Rights
Lifestyle behaviors related to marriage andprocreation, which have long been
recognized as Fourteenth Amendmentliberty right, usually are accorded at leastsome constitutional protection .
T he court of appeals ruled that a teacherhas the right to breast-feed a baby onschool grounds, though school officials candetermine where it can take place.
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 15/18
Educator Privacy Rights cont.
School boards have expressed a desire touse drug testing with employees,
particularly those in certain positions. Federal regulations adopted by theDepartment of T ransportation requiredrug testing of school bus drivers.
Drug testing may also cause legal issues torise to surface (right of privacy).
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 16/18
Educator Privacy Rights cont. T he law of defamation and privacy invasion is
most likely to surface in the education setting in the context of revealing the content of personnel
records. Four T exas statutes convey a qualified privilege
to employers with respect to employee decision-making.
T eachers also have privacy rights in connection
with information stored on a school computer. It now appears that teachers have a diminished
expectation of privacy in information stored onschool district- owned computers. (Voyles vs. theState of T exas (2004) )
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 17/18
17
Student Privacy Rights:
involve both judicial andstatutory law Student personal privacy
² Critical Period of Intervention(CPI)
Student Records ² 1974 (FERPA)(20 U.S.C. §1232g)
Child Custody Issues
² Section I53.377 of Family Code
Student Dress and Grooming
² Fourteenth Amendment (Lansdale v. T yler JuniorCollege,. 1972)
² Public school got rejected
8/8/2019 Privacy & Legal Issues, William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/privacy-legal-issues-william-allan-kritsonis-phd 18/18
18
Student Search and Seizure Standards for searches
² U.S. Supreme Court 1985 Fourth and Fourteenth Amendmentprotects from unreasonable searches.
Locker and Desk Searches
² Shoemaker v. State ² Students still need to be told that randomsearches can occur.
Sniffer Dogs ² U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said Sniffer Dogs are not
considered searches- Police should be called if not granted access
Strip Searches
² Doe v. Renfrow, 1980 ² U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Student Drug T esting
² Vernonia School District v. Acton T esting program in 1989
Use of Magnetometers, Metal Detectors, and breathalyzers
² People v Dukes New York City 1992
Top Related