North Carolina appeals court sidesteps federal privacy law in ruling for transparency on university sexual assaults

A North Carolina court of appeals ruled unanimously that University of North Carolina Chapel Hill must release the names of students and employees found to have committed rape and sexual assault by the schools honor court. The Daily Tar Heel had asked for the records in 2016 but were turned down by the university that cited the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act that protects educational records. (The News Observer, April 17, 2018, by Anne Blythe)

University officials say that the releasing the names of of those found responsible for sexual assaults could result in disclosure of names of victims and witnesses and chill efforts to encourage more reporting of assaults.  (WRAL.com, April 17, 2018, by Tyler Dukes)