WKU News

In response to today’s ruling by the Kentucky Supreme Court in a case involving the University of Kentucky and its student newspaper, Western Kentucky University will make available documents related to all Title IX investigations asserted against WKU employees from November 2011 to November 2016 as requested by the College Heights Herald in an open records request.

The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevented WKU from releasing information which could lead to the identification of complainants. Today’s ruling in a similar case authorizes WKU to make the necessary redactions and prepare files for release to the College Heights Herald. In a similar case at UK, the state Supreme Court ruled the university will have to separate redacted documents into two categories, releasing those that are not exempt and justifying why others cannot be released.

“We made it clear that we would follow legal precedent, and this ruling provides much needed additional clarity,” said Andrea Anderson, WKU’s General Counsel. “Our focus from the beginning has been on protecting the identity of those filing the complaints. We look forward to bringing the litigation with the Herald to resolution.”