An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 10 - Privacy Rights Of Students And Employees

Fair Housing Act private schools that provide residential living or student housing cannot discriminate against a student’s ability to live and enjoy the housing based on disability. This creates a duty to consider emotional support animals in on-campus housing as reasonable accommodations. 1654

C HAPTER 10 - P RIVACY R IGHTS O F S TUDENTS A ND E MPLOYEES I NTRODUCTION Privacy rights implicate many aspects of school management. They arise from a vast array of federal and state laws that are not only numerous, but often difficult to interpret. The area of privacy rights continue to expand particularly with the continued evolution of technology used by employees and students. Thus, an understanding of privacy rights is essential in complying with the law, preventing legal challenges, and managing employee and student conduct that implicates these rights. T YPES O F L IABILITY I N P RIVACY A RENA This section covers the specific laws that apply to each of the major areas impacted by privacy. The following, however, is the big picture concerning school liability in the area of employee and student privacy. Employees and students (and their parents) pursuing a legal challenge based on a violation of their privacy rights may rely upon one or more of the following categories of law. A. C ALIFORNIA C ONSTITUTION Article I, Section 1, of the California Constitution expressly confers a right to privacy on all individuals in California. It provides: “All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.” 1655 This right to privacy is “self-executing” and creates a right of action against private employers. 1656 Private schools can therefore be held liable under the California Constitution for violating the privacy rights of employees and students. In the leading case interpreting the right to privacy under Article I, Section 1, of the California Constitution, Hill v. NCAA , 1657 the California Supreme Court identified the core values furthered by the constitutional right as informational privacy and autonomy privacy. Section 1 Section 2

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 372