Paxton: UT Can't Block Regents' Requests for Information
Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday boosted University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall's efforts to dig into admissions at UT-Austin by siding with Hall in a dispute over whether regents can have access to confidential student records.
Paxton didn't specifically order the university system to hand over any records. But he broadly stated in a letter to the system that universities can't withhold documents from regents if those records are necessary for the regent to do his or her job.
Paxton also seemed to dismiss the system's concerns about student privacy, saying federal privacy records don't prevent schools from giving regents records if they are part of an audit or evaluation of a state-supported program.
The letter comes one day before the system's Board of Regents is set to meet. Regents are expected to discuss tightening restrictions on how individual regents can access information. It's unclear how they will respond to Paxton's letter.
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/12/paxton-ut-cant-block-regents-requests-information/