<p>I had a link to an article in the New York Times about proposed changes to privacy rules in a previous thread of mine called: NYT: After Campus Shootings, U.S. to Ease Privacy Rules.</p>
<p>excertps from the article:</p>
<p>“Although the law has always had a health and safety exception that allows releasing confidential information in emergency situations, many college officials have been wary of invoking it, fearful of being found to violate the federal privacy law. Even though the regulations would provide no major substantive changes, lawyers who specialize in education said they were important to the extent that they stop administrators from invoking the privacy act as an excuse for inaction. Youre the dean, you think a students in trouble, and you want to pick up the phone to call his parents or his doctor, said Sheldon Steinbach, a lawyer at Dow Lohnes in Washington. But youre worried that youre violating the law and youre going to lose all your federal funding. The safety and health provisions always been there, Mr. Steinbach continued. But these regulations provide a psychological safety net for young, risk-averse administrators.
…
The new rules would create a safe harbor for campus administrators who see a significant threat to the health or safety of a student or others and disclose confidential information to people who can respond. If, based on the information available at the time of the determination, there is a rational basis for the determination, the department will not substitute its judgment for that of the educational agency or institution in evaluating the circumstances and making its determination, the proposed regulations said.”</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that VT wouldn’t have the resources to make at least one follow-up contact with a student who was reported to be suicidal, especially after their experience a year ago. This was negligence and incompetence to the max. And they could have alerted the parents using the health and safety exception noted above.</p>
<p>I will definitely have my son sign the medical waiver. I assume this is something that you have to see a lawyer about? How do you go about getting one.</p>