The USA Patriot Act, passed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has serious implications for schools both students and educators. While giving the government the "tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism," it disregards precious academic freedom, free speech and privacy rights.
Even if one assumes that the overall purpose is good and the intentions of Congress are noble, any statute that limits civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution is alarming.
The statute contains provisions that explicitly allow the release of educational records and statistics to authorities. In addition, other information-gathering provisions it contains can be applied to schools.
The government can seek information from school librarians and library records without showing probable cause or even reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. If the government decided to track a student's library records and found that he or she had been researching terrorism for a class project, the student might come under increased scrutiny simply for his or her choice of research projects. A library or school ordered to produce such information cannot disclose to the person that the request has been made.
Wiretap provisions could also apply to schools. In theory, any communications via telephone or computer in classrooms or offices can be monitored without the individuals' knowledge.
While student records are still somewhat protected - a court order is still required to authorize their release - there are no safety provisions for informal records such as a teacher's private notes about a student. If teachers communicate via e-mail about students (and perhaps other matters vital to their employment), personal information about teachers' opinions or students' behavior could be monitored routinely or more formally with the certification that the information is "relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation." Aside from its obvious violation of privacy rights, the Patriot Act can circumvent any safeguards of student privacy rights otherwise left intact.
The most chilling threat to First Amendment rights comes from the vague language used to determine when an immigrant is affiliated with a "terrorist organization" and what constitutes "domestic terrorism." Student protests could be included within the broad definition of domestic terrorism.
The list of potential privacy infringements occurring in a school context is long and the public will not know if or how often infringement occurs.
Until Congress amends the Patriot Act to restore constitutional liberties, there are steps that can be taken to safeguard academic freedom. Schools can fully comply with the provisions of the Patriot Act and still maintain the liberties of students and teachers.
Schools should only release educational records when presented with a court order. While the standard for obtaining a court order may have been relaxed, the role of schools in releasing educational records remains the same: they must release them when presented with a court order. The new law allows schools to release records without student or parent consent if they are presented with a court order under the government's Patriot Act authority. Schools are not required to keep a record of requests for such information and are insulated from liability for the production of educational records when they comply in good faith.
Similarly, schools should only release library records or similar information when they are presented with a court order. Schools may not disclose to anyone that such a request has been made. The American Library Association (ALA), which has created some general guidelines for librarians that can be adapted for a school setting, advises libraries to establish detailed policies and procedures for the release of information and to train their staff pursuant to such policies.
No provisions of the Patriot Act on their face prohibit students and teachers from speaking freely, expressing opinions, or exercising other First Amendment rights. Some individuals have been wary of speaking their mind in class and on campus because they fear being reported as suspicious individuals or associated with anti-American (or terrorist) activity.
Schools must affirm their role as marketplaces of freely expressed ideas by issuing and enforcing policies to assure students and teachers that their First Amendment liberties are still intact.
