LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky violated Kentucky's Open Records Act by withholding education records related to a child's enrollment at the university's Early Childhood Laboratory without properly citing legal authority, according to a decision issued June 11 by Attorney General Russell Coleman.

Joshua Campbell requested education records about his child's enrollment, attendance and separation from the Early Childhood Laboratory, a licensed child care facility within the College of Education. The university initially denied the request, citing a temporary custody order that granted sole decision-making authority over childcare matters to the child's mother.

The Attorney General's office rejected the university's reasoning, finding that the custody order does not explicitly prohibit Campbell from accessing his child's nonexempt educational records. The university acknowledged in its appeal that "there is nothing in the order that explicitly says" Campbell cannot obtain the records, yet suggested the language about decision-making authority implicitly restricted access.

"The Office cannot agree," Coleman wrote in the decision. "Simply put, the Office declines to interpret the temporary custody order as prohibiting sub silentio the Appellant from obtaining records about his child."

The ruling requires that public agencies like the university must provide detailed explanations for denying open records requests and cite specific legal exceptions authorizing the withholding. The university's response failed to meet this standard, relying solely on the custody order rather than invoking applicable state law exemptions.

This decision continues a pattern of open records compliance challenges at Kentucky's universities. A 2025 investigation by the Lexington Herald-Leader found that Kentucky's public universities fully or partially violated the Open Records Act in approximately 65 percent of appeals filed between 2012 and 2024.

Campbell or the university may appeal the decision to Fayette Circuit Court within 30 days. The Attorney General's office noted that a circuit court could amend the custody order to address the records access issue if warranted.