Sunshine Week: this week The Daily is participating in
sunshine Week, a week set apart to promote the importance of open government and freedom of information. much of our content will use information gathered from records requested through oU’s open records office.
opinion: OU Teach-In event enhances public engagement and discourse. (Page 3)
T U E S DA Y, M A R C H 12 , 2 013
aCCeSS DenIeD
BLayKLee BUCHanan/tHe daiLy
OU denied requests for parking ticket records, but are they legally private?
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JOEY STIPEK FOR THE DAILY
U gave out almost 52,000 parking citations last year, then dismissed almost a third of them. But you won’t find out here whether athletes, student leaders, faculty or any other special interest group got special treatment. The reason? OU won’t release the records.
OU’s Open Records office and state and federal experts disagree whether student parking citations are exempt from a federal privacy law. OU officials cite both the Oklahoma Open Records Act and The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, as reasons to withhold student parking citations. A total of 51,987 citations were issued at OU in fiscal year 2012, with 14,258, or 27.4 percent, of those citations being dismissed. The Daily filed an open records request in September 2012 for all student parking citations issued so far that year in an attempt to verify the fairness of the parking system. OU’s Open Records office denied The Daily’s request in September 2012 and again in December 2012, citing FERPA. According to Daily archives, the university also cited FERPA in 2010 when withholding student parking citations. FERPA is a federal law protecting the privacy of students’ educational records. The law establishes students have the right to expect such records will be kept confidential unless they consent to their release. Open Records office director Rachel McCombs said the university considers parking citations as on of these academic records protected by FERPA. “Any record that contains information that is directly related to a student and is maintained by the university is protected by FERPA,” she said via email. In an email from his office in Washington D.C., Student Press Law Center executive director Frank LaMonte said records covered under FERPA are those containing confidential information identifying a particular student. “If the record is maintained in some type of central storage facility or location and directly relates or refers to the student,” he said. “The courts have been very, very clear that not every document that names or refers to a student is a FERPA record and have typically limited the reach of the statute in a common-sense way to records that have something to do with educational activity.” The Open Records Office provided information about the number and type of violations on campus but would not provide a list of violations connected with student names. Without identifying information, it is impossible to verify that
Men’s tennis squares off with Florida State Sports: no. 6 team will play tonight. (Page 6)
different groups of students are receiving similar treatment “It defies logic to say parking tickets are no longer public from the parking office. records in the hands of the university,” he said. “I don’t think FERPA was intended to protect parking tickets.” Are parking citations student records? Senat said parking tickets have nothing to do with a stuMcCombs said parking citations given to students are re- dent’s education. cords that relate to enrolled students and are maintained by “Oklahomans are entitled to know what tickets are being paid, what tickets are not and if any special favor or favoritism the university. “Thus, they are education records and are confidential is shown,” he said. under FERPA,” she said. The records requests for parking tickets at the University LaMonte said parking tickets are almost certainly not of Maryland and the University of North Carolina not only FERPA records. sparked court cases that found parking tickets were not pro“The U.S. Department of Education has never said so,” he tected under FERPA, but also turned up evidence of favoritism said. “And courts in Maryland and North Carolina have said shown toward student-athletes. In a telephone interview, Norman Police Department Capt. they are not.” LaMonte said a parking ticket is not considered an educa- Tom Easley said citizens in Norman filing an open record retion record for several reasons. quest for hard copy parking tickets “probably” would have “Most importantly, be- their request filled, as long as the individual is referenced in “Would the college cause anyone can get a park- the Norman Police Department database. put your report card ing ticket, not just a student,” “The problem with parking tickets is that they are given to he said. “Tickets are issued automobiles, not people,” he said. “The car gets the ticket not underneath your to cars, not people. The tick- the person.” windshield wiper, et is not a record belonging Easley said people could get parking tickets from the to and directly relating to the Norman municipal court. “You will get the tag, vehicle, date or a copy of your student.” and time of the offense, location of the violation, nature of the LaMonte also said parking offense, but not the name,” he said. transcripts?” citations are not confidential Easley said citizens could request information on an indiFRANK LAMONTE, because of where they’re left vidual through a master records name check with the Norman STUDENT PRESS LAW CENTER — in public where anyone Police Department, barring certain circumstances such as EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR can easily look at them. suspect information and mental health. “A parking ticket is left stuck on the window of a car where passing pedestrians can look at How citations are handled OU Parking Services spokeswoman Vicky Holland said after it,” he said. “Would the college put your report card undera parking citation is issued, it is placed in “unpaid, no-name” neath your windshield wiper, or a copy of your transcripts?” LaMonte said if parking tickets were cited under FERPA as status until a second citation. After a second citation issued to the same vehicle, that student records, “then someone should file a complaint with the Department of Education against the college for inade- vehicle’s tag number is sent automatically to the appropriate Department of Motor Vehicles office for identification, quately securing the privacy of FERPA records.” Joey Senat, an Oklahoma State University journalism pro- Holland said. Then after the owner is identified, the citation is billed to his fessor and former Freedom of Information Oklahoma president, said parking tickets in the hands of the police depart- or her bursar’s account. If the owner does not have an account ment are public records. see RECORDS PaGe 2
One artist’s music is as unique as his name L&A: devendra Banhart’s new album, “mala,” demonstrates his flexible talent with its unexpected new sound. (Page 5)
Baseball goes head to head with New Mexico astrUd reed/tHe daiLy
Junior Guillermo alcorta returns with a forehand on a lob deep in the corner during his match against Tulsa’s Clifford Marsland on Friday in norman.
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Sports: Pitching is key for sooner victory tonight. (Page 6)
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reCord reQUests The Oklahoma Daily regularly asks for access to public information from oU officials. Here is a list of the most-recent requests our reporters have submitted to the university. requested document and purpose
date requested
all requests made to the open records office from Feb. 1, 2013 to March 10, 2013 — to see who is requesting records and what they are requesting.
march 8
The cost of one load of laundry in the washing machine in all OU laundry facilities within the last 10 years, the cost of one load of laundry in the drying machines in all OU laundry facilities within the last 10 years and the cost of maintaining all laundry facilities within the last 10 years — to see if there’s an influx in laundry costs and how much the university profits from laundry each year.
march 10
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3/11/13 10:32 PM