Austin American-statesman Wins Case Over University of Texas Records

As reported by Austin American-statesman, Stephen Yelenosky, a Travis County District Court judge, has ruled that the public has a right to see disciplinary records of University of Texas (UT) students accused of sex crimes. The Statesman originally filed a public information request with the university last August as part of larger investigation by the USA Today Network into sex offenses by college athletes. The records sought were the results of disciplinary hearings conducted of students alleged to have committed sex crimes since 2014. When UT refused to release the records the American-statesman took the matter to court. The university declined to release the records and cited the federal Family Educational

Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974. UT argued that the law required them to withhold certain student records and gave permission for the university to use discretion in the case of other student records, if the release is permitted under the law. The American-statesman argued that the same law did not give the university the ability to withhold records at its own discretion but required it to release records if FERPA permits it. In a letter to attorneys, Yelenosky said UT failed to request an opinion from the Texas attorney general on whether such records could be withheld. J.B. Bird, a spokesman for UT, said the university is going to take time to review the decision and consult with the Texas attorney general’s office.