Jon Krakauer v. Clayton T. Christian, Montana Commissioner of Higher Education

In the process of writing a book about sexual assault on a college campus, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, Petitioner and Author Jon Krakauer sought records regarding the expulsion of the University of Montana’s starting football quarterback and his subsequent reinstatement by the Montana Commissioner of Higher Education without a written decision. Krakauer sought to learn the process and rationale for the reversal of the star player’s expulsion. Citing the public interest in the case and Montana’s explicit constitutional right-toknow provision, the Montana District Court granted access to these records. The Montana Supreme Court overruled, citing the student’s competing and heightened right to privacy conferred, in part, by 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (FERPA). The Montana Supreme Court made no mention of this Court’s decision in Gonzaga v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273, 278-89 (2002), despite being briefed by the Petitioner. Gonzaga held that FERPA is a spending bill that confers no individual private rights. THE QUESTION PRESENTED IS Does FERPA confer an individual right to privacy sufficient to block a court from ordering the release of personally identifiable information about a high profile university athlete on an issue of compelling public interest?