The State Journal recently prevailed in an open records appeal involving Kentucky State University's denial of the newspaper's request for access to records confirming the dates of attendance and participation in university recognized activities of a former student murdered at an off campus Labor Day gathering.
On October 21, the Kentucky Attorney General issued a decision affirming the newspaper's right to records containing the information sought.
The Attorney General held that KSU's reliance on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to deny access to a deceased former student "directory information" — information designated by KSU as non-private and subject to disclosure without consent — was misplaced as was its suggestion that the records would be released if the State Journal obtained a signed release from the deceased student or his parents.
The privacy rights protected by FERPA pass from a student's parents to the "eligible student" when the student reaches the age of 18. A deceased student's privacy rights, under common law principles and guidance from the US Department of Education, end at death.
Here, the Attorney General agreed, there were no privacy rights to protect.
The Kentucky Open Government Coalition provided assistance to the State Journal and was pleased by the outcome. The Coalition's efforts were recognized in a quotation ascribed to Coalition director, Amye Bensenhaver.
"Former Assistant Attorney General and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition Amye Bensenhaver said that the "attempt to shield a former student's years of attendance" and participation in a university athletic program by way of student privacy "was an exercise in legal futility."
"The University designated this information as 'directory information,' which is, by definition, not private," she said. "It squandered public resources defending this frivolous claim. I trust that KSU will not compound this error by seeking review of the attorney general's decision in the Franklin Circuit Court and squandering additional public resources."
The 30 day clock for KSU's appeal to the Franklin Circuit Court has begun, but an appeal on this issue would, in all likelihood, have no chance of success.
