UT System Sues Ken Paxton to Stop Records Release
The University of Texas System is suing Attorney General Ken Paxton over his office's ruling that the system must release certain records related to an admissions investigation of the University of Texas at Austin.
The information, part of an open records request by the Austin American-Statesman, is related to a report on UT-Austin's admission practices that was commissioned by system administrators. The investigation, conducted by Kroll Associates Inc., found that former UT-Austin President Bill Powers helped some students gain admission over the objections of admissions officials.
In its petition filed with a district court in Travis County, the UT System claims the requested information is exempt from disclosure under a constitutional right to privacy.
"We are filing suit to protect the private information of UT students, as well as applicants and prospective students," UT System spokeswoman Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said in a statement. "In our view, the AG has misapplied a rule related to which documents are part of a 'completed investigation' and are therefore available to the public. Part of the significant impact of that decision falls on the thousands of students who have applied to the University of Texas at Austin."
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/08/11/ut-system-sues-ken-paxton-stop-records-release/