The University of Texas at Austin and Jay Hartzell, in His Official Capacity as Interim President of the University of Texas at Austin v. Gatehouse Media Texas Holdings II, Inc., D/B/A Austin American-Statesman, 711 S.W.3d 655

The Austin American-Statesman requested the University of Texas at Austin disclose the final results of student disciplinary hearings for sex offenses since 2014 under the Texas Public Information Act (PIA).
The University declined, citing the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which generally protects education records but permits disclosure of certain disciplinary records at the institution’s discretion.
The University did not request a decision from the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) prior to withholding the records, as the PIA sometimes requires.
The Statesman sued for a writ of mandamus to compel disclosure; the trial court ruled for the Statesman and the appellate court affirmed in part, holding that disclosure was mandatory and the University erred in not seeking OAG review.
A dissent in the appellate court argued the University had discretion not to disclose, aligning with FERPA’s permissive language, and was not required to seek OAG review.
The Texas Supreme Court granted review to resolve the interplay among FERPA, the PIA, and the OAG decision process.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Statesman)	Defendant's Argument (University)	Held
Whether PIA requires disclosure of FERPA records if FERPA permits disclosure	If FERPA authorizes disclosure, PIA mandates it	FERPA permitting does not mean PIA requires disclosure; disclosure is discretionary	Disclosure is discretionary, not mandatory
Does Section 552.114(b) of the PIA require disclosure of records FERPA authorizes?	Second sentence of 552.114(b) negates confidentiality, making disclosure mandatory	"Does not prohibit" means discretionary, not mandatory	Section 552.114(b) does not mandate disclosure
Is seeking an OAG decision required before withholding education records?	Failure to seek OAG decision raises presumption for disclosure	Not required when withholding FERPA-protected records; OAG doesn’t review such records	University not required to seek OAG decision
Whether PIA’s policy to liberally construe in favor of disclosure overrides statutory text	Purpose and policy statements support mandatory disclosure	Plain language of statute controls, not policy	Court must follow statutory text, not policy

Tex. Comptroller of Pub. Accts. v. Att’y Gen. of Tex., 354 S.W.3d 336 (Tex. 2010) (distinguishes categories of information under the PIA and emphasizes statutory interpretation)
Pub. Util. Comm’n of Tex. v. Luminant Energy Co., 691 S.W.3d 448 (Tex. 2024) (statutory interpretation requires reading provisions in context)