The Virginia Tech tragedy necessarily caused colleges and universities to experience heightened awareness regarding the various issues affecting campus security. Educational institutions and state and federal governments scrutinized the events leading up to the tragedy in an effort to determine what, if anything, might be done in order to avoid similar incidents in the future. A repeated theme in a number of these studies was the reluctance of school officials to share information about troubled students with other officials – even within the same institution.

 

While “information silos” within colleges or universities present a major obstacle to achieving a safe, secure campus, review of the privacy restrictions at issue indicates that many of the privacy-related concerns which have apparently inhibited information flow are misplaced. For example, the majority of the laws at issue expressly permit disclosure of otherwise confidential information when health or safety are at risk. College and university administrators must be well-versed in the contours of these laws in order to facilitate the appropriate gathering and, as appropriate, sharing of important information.

        

This information was last updated on December 16, 2008. It is important to note that this page is intended as a starting point, or a primer, to direct you to some of the numerous resources available to you on this subject. As always, should you have questions or concerns regarding a specific situation or issue, you should seek legal advice.