Campus safety advocates hope a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court will begin to open the doors to disciplinary records and proceedings at colleges and universities.
The ruling prevents students and parents from suing universities that violate the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, which protects students’ educational records from public disclosure.
Those records, which include grades and financial aid information, also include records of actions taken against students in campus judiciary systems.
The inclusion of disciplinary information is where the problem with FERPA lies.
Colleges and universities, including MSU, have been skittish about releasing any such records to the public for fear of lawsuits or of fines by the U.S. Department of Education.
So while federal and state courts remain open to the public, campus courts operate behind closed doors, even though they often deal with the same types of offenses.
Campus judicial systems can deal with anything from drug or alcohol violations to sexual assault.
Fortunately, Congress opened one loophole in 1998 to FERPA, allowing universities to release information about violent crimes and nonforcible sex acts.
But even in these cases, only the name of the offender, ordinance or law broken, and punishment are released to the public.
The hope now is that the Supreme Court’s ruling will offer universities another way to begin to open the doors to a system that should be public.
But a substantial hurdle still remains for universities.
While the court’s decision prevents students from suing if information is released, the Department of Education can fine universities - deducting federal aid from shrinking higher education budgets.
FERPA should protect students’ academic records.
But punishment by a judicial body for a serious crimes should not be included under this “academic” umbrella. There’s nothing educational about raping someone, committing an assault, or using illegal substances. These standards are long overdue for a revision, either by the Education Department or by Congress.
Access to this information provides a vital tool for students, parents and officials to determine the safety of a university, not to mention an important tool for some future students shopping around for a future home and education.
If colleges are allowed to hold judicial hearings, they should adhere to the judicial standards of other courts.
Information needs to be made open to the public to allow students to look out for their own safety.
