Penn State requests Pa. Supreme Court intervention to block release of internal trustee documents.

Penn State University, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Education, is seeking an appeal from the state’s Supreme Court to reverse a recent lower court ruling that favored Spotlight PA, a nonprofit investigative newsroom. The ruling mandates the disclosure of internal documents from the Penn State Board of Trustees, which could have significant ramifications for public access to documents stored in cloud-based systems.

The motion for appeal was filed last week, requesting the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reconsider the public records case. The court’s history indicates a reluctance to hear similar cases, denying 87% of requests for review of lower court decisions in 2024, as recorded in its annual report.

Spotlight PA has legal representation from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic. In their statement, representatives emphasized the importance of transparency, arguing that trustees should not be able to avoid public scrutiny merely by storing documents in digital platforms or claiming they contain proprietary information.

The university, however, has opted not to comment on ongoing litigation, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education has not responded to requests for comments regarding the outcome.

The origins of the case date back to May 2023 when Spotlight PA submitted public records requests to both the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture. These requests sought access to documents utilized by agency secretaries who also serve as trustees at Penn State. Although the university benefits from certain exemptions under the state’s Right-to-Know Law, a previous court decision in 2013 indicated that documents used by trustees during their service could be accessible to the public.

In 2023, the Office of Open Records determined that specific documents requested by Spotlight PA should be made publicly available. However, both Penn State and the state education department contested this ruling through an appeal to the Commonwealth Court.

In September, the court sided with Spotlight PA, declaring that Penn State’s claims were unfounded. The ruling stressed that upholding the university’s argument would undermine the intent of Pennsylvania’s open records law, highlighting the potential for cloud-based systems to be misused as a shield against transparency. Furthermore, the court directed Penn State to unredact a 2022 document concerning the university’s financial challenges.

In its petition to the state Supreme Court, Penn State contended that the lower court improperly found that department secretaries possessed the records due to their limited access through a cloud service, Diligent. The university has likened this access to that of an official controlling a physical document, arguing that the actual possession of records remained with the university.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education has also indicated its stance, suggesting that the lower court’s ruling misinterprets the intent of the state’s transparency laws.

As part of ongoing legal proceedings, Spotlight PA is preparing to respond to this appeal in the coming days. This development follows a resolution earlier this year concerning a separate lawsuit where Penn State’s board settled allegations of violating Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act, which mandates transparency from public governing bodies.

The outcome of this case could significantly influence the standards for public access to records maintained digitally, impacting the accountability of state-related institutions across Pennsylvania.