Minnesota
Idaho, Minnesota universities stonewall public records requests for controversial course syllabi | The College Fix
Key Takeaways
- The University of Idaho and University of Minnesota denied requests for course syllabi from the American Accountability Foundation, claiming syllabi are protected as intellectual property or trade secrets under state laws.
- The AAF argued that the universities’ justifications for withholding the syllabi misinterpret state laws and the definition of trade secrets, which require economic value and reasonable secrecy efforts.
- Both universities offered limited alternatives, such as in-person inspection of the documents, which the AAF deemed insufficient based on previous court rulings affirming the public’s right to access such records.
The University of Idaho and the University of Minnesota refused to provide class syllabi to a conservative research group that submitted requests under the respective states’ public records laws.
In the case of UI, the American Accountability Foundation requested syllabi for Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and four Ecology of Health & Medicine–Foundations courses. In its demand letter to the university, AAF said the courses were “related to how the University of Idaho has changed its practices to comply with Idaho anti-DEI laws.”
The university “denied the request with respect to the syllabi on the grounds that they are ‘trade secrets’ exempt from disclosure under the Idaho Public Records Act. The university is wrong,” the demand letter to the school’s chief compliance officer states.
UI spokesperson Jodi Walker told The College Fix that the university’s “Board of Regents has outlined in policy that syllabi are intellectual property.”
“U of I policy is written to follow that state policy. Therefore, we do believe syllabi are protected under patent, trademark, copyright or other laws and are not subject to disclosure as a public record,” she said.
However, the foundation urged the school to pay closer attention to the state law’s definition of a trade secret, which requires it to derive “independent economic value” from “not being readily ascertainable by proper means” and to be protected by reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.
The foundation also requested syllabi copies for University of Minnesota’s courses of Human Sexuality; Justice, Law, and Medicine; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health; and Sexual and Gender Health in Clinical Practice.
According to the foundation’s demand letter to UMN, the school refused the request “because the syllabi ‘are copyrighted and protected intellectual property.’”
However, it did offer to “‘provide [AAF] with an opportunity to inspect the data in-person.’”
The research group called this response “inadequate.”
It pointed to a Minnesota Court of Appeals case in which the State Colleges and Universities system was barred from denying a public records request for syllabi solely on copyright grounds. In that case, the system had similarly “offered to allow the plaintiff to ‘inspect’ the syllabi in person—a mirror of [UMN’s] response.”
The court “breezily rejected that unsupported argument,” the foundation noted.
The College Fix reached out to the University of Minnesota’s media relations team twice to ask the university’s thoughts on the relation between this case and their own, but received no response.
Matt Ehling, treasurer for Minnesotans for Open Government, told The College Fix in an interview that UMN’s offer for inspection but refusal to copy is “frustrating” and “suspect” since the university owns the copyright.
Ehling said that while there would have been some merit to the university’s claim if the copyright were owned by another, there is no excuse for the current state of affairs.
Ehling said “they absolutely have the right to waive their copyright claim to produce copies of their own material.”
He also pointed to a 1995 opinion from the Minnesota Attorney General, which states that a department cannot use copyright as a reason to block the public’s right to inspect and copy public records “at reasonable times and places” under Minnesota law.
The foundation gave both universities a hard deadline of June 12 to provide the requested documents. If the universities persist “in violating [their] statutory obligations” under the states’ respective laws,” the foundation reserves its rights to seek all appropriate relief [in] court,” the group wrote.
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The final day of the Minnesota high school baseball season takes center stage Monday, as four championship bouts take place at Target Field.
All games can be streamed, for a fee, at NSPN.TV/MSHSL
Class A
No. 1 Madelia (28-3) vs. No. 2 Red Lake County (27-2), 10 a.m.
Class 2A
No. 1 St. Cloud Cathedral (24-2) vs. No. 3 Glencoe-Silver Lake (23-4), 1 p.m.
Class 3A
No. 1 Totino-Grace (19-8) vs. No. 2 Mahtomedi (23-5), 4:30 p.m.
Class 4A
No. 2 Champlin Park (22-6) vs. No. 4 Rosemount (24-5), 7:30 p.m.
The Minnesota Lynx have the early favorite for Rookie of the Year; the Las Vegas Aces have the reigning MVP.
Olivia Miles made two huge shots for the Lynx in the final minute, but two free throws by A’ja Wilson put the Aces ahead for good in a 100-97 win Saturday in Sin City.
Miles scored 12 of her career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter — 10 in the final 2:23.
“When you have a rookie like that, maybe not playing her best, maybe turning it over, whatever it is, not defending the way we need her to defend and then just kind of willing yourself at the end and willing the team at the end to give us a chance that’s a special player,” coach Cheryl Reeve said.
Miles 3-pointer with 25 seconds left gave the Lynx a 97-96 lead, but Wilson countered with a pair of free throws less than five seconds later to put the Aces back up by one.
A stepback triple by Miles was long with seven seconds left, and after a couple free throws for Vegas, a desperation heave at the buzzer by Courtney Williams was off the mark and the Lynx (10-3) lost for the first time in nine games. Las Vegas (10-3) has won six straight.
Miles somewhat downplayed her offensive success postgame, noting she committed six turnovers. “A lot of them were unforced, but I’ve giving myself grace. I got to learn. It’s my first time playing against them, feeling the pressure of the game. … I’m definitely going to take this one and learn from it, take the good with the bad. It’s not always as bad as you think it is and it’s not always as good as you think it is. Just stay level headed.”
Down by 15 late in the first half, Minnesota methodically chipped away with a Kayla McBride 3-pointer making it a two-point game with 2:47 left. She finished with 19 points.
After a couple Aces’ free throws, Miles scored on a finger roll. Then, after Wilson made a jumper at the other end, Miles responded with a reverse layup and it was 93-91 Las Vegas.
Kayla McBride got a defensive rebound off a Las Vegas miss and Miles drove the lane for a layup and drew a foul on Wilson. The No. 2 pick in this year’s draft calmly sank the ensuing free throw with 48 seconds left and the Lynx 94-93, its first advantage since 4-3.
A questionable foul on McBride — one which was upheld by video review but Reeve said was a misinterpretation of a rule — led to three free throws by Jewell Loyd for a 96-94 Aces lead moments later.
Natasha Howard had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Lynx before fouling out.
She said Minnesota picked up its defensive intensity and was more physical with the Aces after halftime. “We dictated where we wanted them to be on the defensive end. That’s how it was easy to get steals, stops and getting rebounds and pushing the ball. We should have started that off in the first half instead of the second half and we wouldn’t be in this predicament of talking about a loss. … Vegas threw the first punch, but we got to be ready at all times.”
The Lynx return home to host expansion Portland on Monday night.
The Las Vegas Aces will host the Minnesota Lynx Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. The Lynx have the WNBA’s best record despite superstar Napheesa Collier playing zero games this season.
Lynx vs. Aces will air on CBS, and streams on DIRECTV (free trial).
Here’s what you need to know:
What: WNBA regular season
Who: Minnesota Lynx (10-2) vs. Las Vegas Aces (9-3)
When: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Where: Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: CBS
Live stream: DIRECTV (free trial), fuboTV (free trial), Paramount+
DIRECTV
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What to know about Lynx vs. Aces
Here’s a recent story from the Associated Press:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rookie Olivia Miles had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Kayla McBride added 22 points, and the Minnesota Lynx used a big first half to cruise past the Dallas Wings 100-76 on Tuesday night for their eighth straight victory.
Natasha Howard scored 21 points and Courtney Williams added 16 for Minnesota (10-2), which became the first WNBA team to reach 10 wins this season. McBride made four of Minnesota’s seven 3-pointers.
Paige Bueckers led Dallas (7-4) with 23 points. Arike Ogunbowale added 16 points, and Jessica Shepard had 12 points and nine rebounds. Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, finished with six points on 2-of-12 shooting.
Four of Minnesota’s starters reached double-figure scoring by halftime. Howard and Miles each had 14 points, and McBride and Williams each added 12 to help the Lynx lead 58-38.
Minnesota made 23 of 32 (72%) field goals in the first half, including 6 of 8 3-pointers.
The Lynx led 75-60 entering the fourth, with 71 points coming from their starters. Williams made a basket with 30.7 seconds left to put Minnesota at the 100-point mark for the third time this season.
The teams combined to make 26 straight free throws before a miss with 56.8 seconds left in the fourth.
Up next
Dallas hosts Phoenix on Thursday.
Minnesota plays at Las Vegas on Saturday.
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