Bill would make admissions applications exempt from open‑records requests and allow applicants to request destruction

Representative Jared Hendricks introduced House Bill 15‑42 to the Senate Education Committee, proposing to exempt records related to an individual’s application for admission to institutions under the State Board of Higher Education from public‑records disclosure and to allow applicants (or a parent/guardian) to request destruction of those application records.

Hendricks said the change is designed to close a gap: federal law (FERPA) protects enrolled students’ education records, but application materials for people who never matriculate are not uniformly protected under state open‑records law. Hendricks described a case in which an applicant’s communications and application materials were available through an open‑records request and said applicants should have an option to protect sensitive personal details such as accounts of assault, victimization, or other private…