From the Charlotte Observer (4/22/11): UNC Chapel Hill withheld documents that should have been provided in response to an open-records lawsuit filed by a consortium of media groups against the university, Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning ruled Tuesday.
The university had cited FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as justification for withholding phone records and parking tickets requested by The (Raleigh) News & Observer. But in a memorandum regarding his decision, Manning wrote, “FERPA does not provide a student with an invisible cloak so that the student can remain hidden from public view while enrolled at UNC.”
Manning did rule that the identities of student tutors working with athletic teams are protected by FERPA. Lawyers for UNC provided the plaintiffs with a list of nonstudent tutors at the beginning of a hearing Friday.
Manning directed lawyers representing the media groups to prepare an order implementing his decision. Once the order is signed and entered, UNC will have 30 days to decide whether it wants to appeal.
The lawsuit, brought in October by a group of news organizations led by The Charlotte Observer and the N&O, sought the release of records related to the NCAA investigation into the UNC football program.