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UH Reporters Won't Have To Hand Over E-Mails After All

By Admin in Edumacation

Thursday, Nov. 6 2008 @ 4:12PM

Student reporters for University of Houston’s Daily Cougar won’t have to turn over their e-mail correspondences with staff members. Last week, the paper was sent a request for the documents under the Texas Public Information Act, but UH’s Assistant General Counsel, Eric D. Bentley, fired back with an act of his own: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. (Boo-yah!)

From Bentley’s letter to requestor Brendan Laws:

The University has determined that we are unable to provide you with the information you have requested. The information you seek to obtain is located in students’ education records and my lead to personally identifiable information (other than directory information) of University students. These education records are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) …

There is still no information regarding why the documents were requested by Laws.

-- Dusti Rhodes