Should campus threat assessments be private?
March 7, 2010 | Virginia News
By Brian McNeill The Daily Progress
The House and Senate have approved competing versions of a bill that differ on whether the public has a right to see the records of campus threat assessment teams in the aftermath of a tragedy such as the Virginia Tech massacre.
Both versions allow the threat assessment teams — which include law enforcement, university administration, mental health providers, residence life representatives and others — to discuss internally the criminal and mental health records of someone deemed a possible threat to campus safety.
The House version, sponsored by Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, would also exempt all records generated by the threat assessment teams from the Freedom of Information Act. This FOIA provision would keep private any notes, minutes or other records created by the teams as part of their discussions of potentially dangerous students, faculty or staff. The provision would not make public records that are already private. Bell has said that the legislation must include the FOIA exemption to ensure the threat assessment teams' work does not end up on the front page of the student newspaper. Moreover, Bell says, campus tipsters might be reluctant to voice concerns about possibly dangerous classmates if there's a chance the tip could become public. Open government advocates, including the Virginia Press Association and the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, say the records generated by the threat assessment teams ought to be open to the public after a violent act. "These records would be important for the public to see should there be another event like Virginia Tech," said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the open government coalition. "Family members of victims, faculty, staff, community members, alumni, historians and researchers are all going to be interested in seeing these records." The threat assessment teams' records, she added, are essential to understanding the events that led to campus violence and for understanding how violence can be prevented in the future. The Senate-approved version of the bill does not include the Freedom of Information Act exemption. When this version, introduced by Sen. John S. Edwards, D-Roanoke, crossed over to the House, a committee amended it to include the FOIA provision. The Senate, in turn, changed Bell's version Wednesday to take out the FOIA exemption.
