As reporters go over every detail of the Penn State scandal, including employee records, e-mails and personal information, there are some details they will not be able to discover. You can thank recently-ousted school president Graham Spanier for that.
Penn State Scandal: University Exempt From Pennsylvania Open Record Laws
Spanier fought for and won an exemption from Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law that requires state employees and offices to provide all pertinent information to the taxpayers funding it.
The University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Lincoln University are all also exempt from open records under the same ruling.
If you’re wondering why specific details like Mike McQueary’s salary, Jerry Sandusky’s expenditures or internal emails related to Sandusky’s alleged allegations haven’t been released, this is the reason. The school is under no obligation to supply that information despite its status.
In the wake of the ongoing scandal, where university transparency has become a major issue, many voices are rising up against the exemption. A recent editorial from the Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre calls for an amendment to state law to remove the exemption as soon as possible.
Given the questions about the child sex abuse scandal and that Spanier and football coach Joe Paterno are no longer in their positions because of what they might have known, the General Assembly must end this unfair exemption.
For more on this situation, be sure to check out Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries and follow along on the SB Nation Penn State Scandal stream.
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