What a difference a day lawsuit makes.
Paris Burris reports:
OU President David Boren has released a statement ordering OU parking ticket information be available to the public and the media in response to a lawsuit against the university led by Daily staff member Joey Stipek.
Read more on The Oklahoma Daily. I had posted and tweeted about this case yesterday, and those who are familiar with FERPA were all of the firm opinion that no, parking tickets are not educational records under FERPA. It’s nice to see the university president has woken up to that:
“While there are differing interpretations of the federal law, I have personally and carefully considered the issue, and I believe that this action does not violate the intent of the federal privacy law. In my opinion, the records in question are traffic violation records, and are not the kind of sensitive student records, which are covered by the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act. I have directed the General Counsel’s Office and other relevant university officials to take the appropriate steps to implement this decision. I have no reason to believe that there has been any impropriety in the parking ticket program, but I believe that the public has a right to know how it has been implemented.”