AG backs release of gunman’s school records

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

The Ohio attorney general is siding with media organizations suing for the school records of the gunman who killed nine people earlier this month.

Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Local Schools has denied media requests for access to the high-school files of gunman Connor Betts, who was shot dead by police about 30 seconds into the Aug. 4 massacre in Dayton.

The district argues that such “records are generally protected by both federal and state law.”

News organizations, including The Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times and others, have sued.

Attorney General Dave Yost argued in a friend of the court filing Thursday that federal privacy protections don’t apply after a student’s death, according to U.S. Department of Education guidance.

Yost said Ohio law demands broad access to public records.