Texas Review of Law & Politics, Volume 20, Number 2, Spring 2016 Page: 210
169-420 p.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Texas Review of Law & Politics
Steinbuch revised his request to explicitly permit UALR to
aggregate small cohorts, an option already available-indeed
required-under law.218 The university's General Counsel's Office
responded that the data Steinbuch requested were exempt from
disclosure regardless of whether redaction would make the data non-
personally-identifiable.219
Steinbuch, a recognized expert on the Arkansas Freedom of
Information Act,220 found this interpretation inconsistent with
Arkansas's FOIA, as revealed by the legislative history and judicial
precedents- that construe the Arkansas FOIA exemptions
narrowly,221 as well as the plain language of Arkansas FOIA
exemptions that provide:222
(f) (1) No "request to inspect, copy, or obtain copies of public
records shall be denied on the ground that information exempt
from disclosure is commingled with nonexempt information.
(2) Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be
provided after deletion of the exempt information.223
At roughly the same time, Steinbuch's colleague, Professor
Joshua Silverstein, made a separate request for certain admissions
data, specifically: (1) undergraduate and law school transcripts-for
every student who began law school at UALR in the fall of 2006 and
completed the first semester, with all information redacted except
for the actual letter grades; and (2) the law school class roster
grading forms for fall 2011 that contained only the aggregate
incoming class GPA of the students in each course.224
In its responses to Silverstein and Steinbuch, the administration
told both professors that their requests required approval by the
Institutional Review Board (IRB).225 Thereafter, the IRB notified
218. Id. (citing E-mail from Robert Steinbuch, Professor, UALR Law School, to John
DiPippa, Dean, UALR Law School, andJeffrey Bell, Senior Associate General Counsel, UALR
(Feb. 20, 2012) (on file with author)).
219. Id. (citing E-mail fromJeffrey Bell, Senior Associate General Counsel, UALR, to
Robert Steinbuch, Professor, UALR Law School (Feb. 22, 2012) (on file with author)).
220. John Lynch, Law School's Records-CaseDefense: Erred in 2013, ARKANSAS ONLINE (Dec.
18, 2015), www.bit.ly/1ng1VjL [perma.cc/8WRB-T7X2].
221. Steinbuch, FourEasy Pieces, supra note 5, at 189 (citing Thomas v. Hall, 399 S.W.3d
387, 390 (Ark. 2012) (stating that the Arkansas Supreme Court "liberally interpret[s] the
FOIA to accomplish its broad and laudable purpose that public business be performed in an
open and public manner ... [and] broadly construes the Act in favor of disclosure.")).
222. Id. at 188 (citing ARK. CODE ANN. 25-19-105(b) (2) (2002), which exempts from
Arkansas FOIA only records whose "disclosure is consistent with the provisions of
[FERPA].").
223. Id. (citing ARK. CODE ANN. 25-19-105(f)(1)-(2) (2002)).
224. Id. at 193.
225. Id. at 194 (citing E-mail fromJohn DiPippa, Dean, UALR Law School, to Robert210
Vol. 20
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
University of Texas at Austin. School of Law. Texas Review of Law & Politics, Volume 20, Number 2, Spring 2016, periodical, March 2016; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth838701/m1/56/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.