## Facts

- In 2007, two University of Iowa football players were accused of sexually assaulting a female student in a campus dorm room.
- The allegations triggered criminal proceedings, university responses, and significant public scrutiny of the University’s handling of sexual-assault reports.
- Press-Citizen Company, publisher of a local newspaper, requested under Iowa’s Open Records Act all university records concerning communications among university officials about recently reported sexual assaults.
- The University located roughly 2,000 responsive pages but produced only a small set, withholding the remainder on the ground that they were protected student records under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
- The newspaper sued to compel production; the district court reviewed withheld documents in camera and ordered additional disclosure, in some instances permitting redactions.
- The University appealed in part, contending FERPA prohibited disclosure of the remaining materials, including redacted “education records,” where the students’ identities would be known or easily inferred by the requester.

## Issues

1. Whether FERPA prohibits a public university from disclosing requested records under Iowa’s Open Records Act when the records qualify as FERPA “education records” containing personally identifiable student information.
2. Whether redaction satisfies FERPA when, in context, the recipient can still determine the identity of the student discussed in the records.

## Decision

- The Iowa Supreme Court reversed the district court’s disclosure order in part and remanded.
- The Court held FERPA prohibited disclosure of the remaining documents at issue, including redacted versions of education records, when the student’s identity would be known to the recipient or readily ascertainable from context.
- The Court concluded Iowa’s Open Records Act could not be applied to require production of FERPA-protected information.

## Legal Principles

- FERPA protects not only explicit identifiers (e.g., names) but also “personally identifiable information,” including information that makes a student’s identity easily traceable in context.
- Redaction is insufficient if, given surrounding circumstances and public knowledge, the requester can still identify the student to whom the record relates.
- State open-records obligations must yield to federal confidentiality requirements where disclosure would place the institution out of compliance with FERPA and risk loss of federal funding.
- Records “directly related” to a student and maintained by the institution may qualify as FERPA “education records,” limiting public disclosure even during high-profile controversies.

## Conclusion

The Iowa Supreme Court limited disclosure under Iowa’s Open Records Act by holding that FERPA barred release of university records, even with redactions, when contextual details would allow the newspaper to identify the students involved.


Press-Citizen Co. v. Univ. of Iowa, 817 N.W.2d 480 (Iowa 2012)