What you need to know about privacy law : a guide for librarians and educators

U.S. privacy laws are confusing and hard to interpret. This book provides clear, substantive guidance to educators who work with minors in these rapidly changing, technological times.

Privacy is now an area of major concern as the use of social media, web beacons, tracking cookies, webcams, GPS-based cell phone tracking, and other 21st-century technologies increasingly proliferate. Educators who work with all ages of students have specific responsibilities to safeguard the students' personally identifying information. Protecting students' privacy is particularly critical in the case of minors. Unfortunately, U.S. privacy law is a mystifying patchwork of federal and state laws. Authored by an experienced attorney who specializes in copyright and privacy law, this book overviews laws pertinent to educators and explains how to recognize, analyze, and handle privacy issues as they arise in specific situations in the educational context.

The information in this work is critically important for anyone working in the educational arena, from professors, classroom teachers, and aides to librarians at all levels and administrators. The book's contents will also help parents to recognize situations that might implicate their child's privacy rights and provide parents with the appropriate steps to follow to work with the school to protect their child.

• Preface p. xi
• Acknowledgments p. xix
• Part I State of the Law p. 1
• Chapter 1 The Concept and Origins of Privacy Protection in the United States p. 5
• Why Do We Care? p. 5
• History of Privacy as a Legal Right p. 6
• Modern Articulation of Privacy Concepts p. 8
• Personally Identifiable Information p. 8
• When "Anonymous" Doesn't Mean Anonymous p. 9
• Fair Information Practices p. 10
• Choice p. 13
• The International Front p. 13
• Bibliography p. 14
• Chapter 2 Statutory Law Most Pertinent to the Educational Context p. 15
• Federal Statutes p. 15
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): Protecting Student Records p. 15
• The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA): Gathering Student Information in Surveys p. 17
• No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB): Undermining FERPA p. 18
• Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): An Attempt to Protect Children Online p. 19
• COPPA and Educational Institutions p. 19
• COPPA's Requirements p. 19
• Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA): A Few Pieces of the Electronic Privacy Protection Puzzle p. 20
• USA PATRIOT Act Has Big Brother Arrived? p. 22
• National Security Letters p. 24
• Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Cowl Warrants p. 25
• Amendments Allow Recipients to Object p. 26
• Stare Statutes p. 26
• Cyberbullying, Cyberstalking, and Cyberharassment p. 27
• Library Records p. 27
• The Privacy Torts p. 28
• The Right of Publicity p. 29
• Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse p. 29
• Privacy in Employment Law p. 29
• Case Law and Other Areas p. 29
• Bibliography p. 30
• Chapter 3 Constitutional Law p. 31
• Fourth Amendment: Reasonable Search and Seizure p. 32
• First Amendment: Intertwined with Right of Privacy p. 35
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969): The Supreme Court Affirms Student Right of Free Speech p. 36
• Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986): The Constitutional Rights of Students Are Not Automatically Equivalent to Those of Adults p. 38
• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988): Schools May Censor Content of School-Sponsored Activities p. 38
• Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007): Schools May Restrict Speech Reasonably Regarded as Encouraging Illegal Drug Use p. 40
• The Intersection of First Amendment Rights and Privacy p. 40
• Bibliography p. 43
• Chapter 4 Liability under the Law p. 45
• Tort p. 46
• Who May Be Held Liable p. 46
• Remedies p. 47
• Violation of Constitutional Right p. 47
• Who May Be Held Liable p. 47
• Immunity p. 48
• Remedies p. 49
• Bibliography p. 49
• Part II Applications in the Educational Setting p. 51
• Chapter 5 Student Privacy in the Brick-and-Mortar World p. 55
• Reasonable Searches in the Educational Context p. 55
• Students Have a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy p. 55
• The Standard p. 56
• "Individualized" versus "Generalized" Searches p. 58
• Applying the Standard p. 60
• Searching Student Possessions p. 61
• Student Expectation of Privacy in Belongings Stored on School Property p. 61
• Searches of Student Dormitory Rooms p. 62
• Searches of Students' Persons p. 62
• Strip Searches p. 63
• Physical Examinations and Testing p. 64
• Searches of Groups of Students and Screening Searches p. 67
• Generally p. 67
• Surveillance and Recordings of Students p. 67
• Drug Dogs p. 68
• Drug Testing of Students Involved in Extracurricular Activities p. 69
• "Seizures": Detaining Students for Questioning and Other Reasons p. 71
• Involving Law Enforcement in School Searches and Seizures p. 72
• Emergencies May Allow Disclosing Student Information p. 75
• Bibliography p. 76
• Chapter 6 Student Privacy Online p. 79
• The Intersection of First and Fourth p. 80
• Email, Social Media, and Cell Phones: Students Have a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy p. 80
• The "Special Nature" of Cell Phones and Other Personal Electronic Devices p. 81
• Off-Campus Activities p. 83
• Integrating Social Media and Other Interactive Technology into the Curriculum p. 85
• Collecting Student Data and Works p. 86
• Bibliography p. 86
• Chapter 7 Faculty and Staff Rights to Privacy p. 89
• The Fourth Amendment and an Employer's Right to Search Employees' Things p. 89
• Surveillance of the Workplace p. 91
• Telephone Conversations p. 91
• Recordings of Surveillance: Audio, No; Silent Video, Maybe p. 92
• Physical and Psychological Testing p. 92
• Drug Testing p. 93
• Employee Rights in the Electronic World p. 94
• Employee's Right to Privacy outside of the Work Environment p. 95
• Bibliography p. 97
• Part III Moving Forward p. 99
• Chapter 8 Privacy Policies p. 101
• Steps in Writing a Privacy Policy p. 103
• Consider Who to Include in the Process p. 103
• Identify the Areas to Be Addressed by the Policy; Specify Conditions p. 103
• Review Current Policies and Consider Current and Past Practices p. 104
• Content p. 104
• Final Reviews p. 105
• What to Do with Your Privacy Policy p. 105
• General Tips for Writing a Privacy Policy p. 106
• Bibliography p. 106
• Chapter 9 Privacy in a Digital Future: Protecting Our Institutions and Our Students p. 107
• Emerging Technologies and the State of Privacy Law p. 107
• What Is a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in the World of Evolving Technology? p. 107
• What Standard Should Determine the Reasonableness of Fourth Amendment Searches and Seizures in a Digital World? p. 108
• Emerging Technologies in the Education Context p. 109
• The Cloud p. 109
• Social Media p. 111
• Location Tracking Technology p. 112
• The Crystal Ball of Privacy Rights p. 113
• Bibliography p. 113
• Chapter 10 Quick and Dirty Answers p. 115
• Glossary p. 125
• Resources for Further Research p. 127
• Index p. 131