Political consultant Mark Grebner sues Lansing Community College over student data

Date:

Share post:


LANSING — Political consultant and former long-time Ingham County Commissioner Mark Grebner is suing Lansing Community College over its denial of a list of names and other information for students at the school.

The two-count lawsuit, filed by Grebner’s attorney, East Lansing Mayor George Brookover, was filed Aug. 8 in the Michigan Court of Claims. Lansing Community College and its Board of Trustees are named as defendants.

Grebner filed a public records request on May 10 for “directory information for all present students,” and said he was seeking the information to “encourage student political involvement, including voter registration and voting, candidate and issue communications, volunteer recruitment, and related research,” according to the complaint.

Mark GrebnerMark Grebner

Mark Grebner

Specifically, he sought the names, college email addresses and dates of attendance for “all present students, all students admitted to study during 2024, and all students who were enrolled at some point during 2024.”

Marilyn Twine, a spokesperson for LCC, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

MORE: Is former Eastern High School salvageable? An LSJ reporter toured the building

Michigan’s FOIA law requires a response from a public institution within five days, either granting the request, extending the time to gather materials by 10 days, or denying the request. In his lawsuit, Grebner said he didn’t hear from the college within the time limit, and on July 3 he followed up with LCC.

Also on July 3, J.R. Beauboeuf, the director of risk management and legal services at LCC, denied Grebner’s request. He claimed the information requested violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, according to the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, Grebner and Brookover argue the information sought was not exempt from disclosure and the college’s failure to produce the items are a violation of FOIA law.

Grebner, who is an attorney himself, said he’s filed many FOIA lawsuits against public institutions over the years.

In this case, the information he’s seeking is what the college determines to be directory information, which he said would have been printed out in directories in the past. He said he has been able to get this information from other schools across the state, with varying degrees of pushback from the schools.

Grebner is seeking the records and asking a judge to levy a civil fine of $1,000 as well as other damages.

Grebner founded a political consulting firm, Practical Political Data & Forum Strategies, more than 50 years ago. He eventually grew the small voter data firm into a full-service political consulting operation, according to the company’s website.

He served for many years as a Democrat on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners.

Contact Sarah Atwood at satwood@lsj.com. Follow her on X @sarahmatwood.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Political consultant Mark Grebner sues Lansing Community College over student data



Source link

Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams is a writer and editor. Angeles. She writes about politics, art, and culture for LinkDaddy News.

Recent posts

Related articles

More human remains from Philadelphia's 1985 MOVE bombing have been found at a museum

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Additional human remains from a 1985 police bombing on the headquarters of a Black...

Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families

The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones' Infowars at a bankruptcy auction,...

Video appears to show a Ukrainian Leopard tank taking out a column of Russian armored vehicles

Ukraine released a video showing an attack on a Russian armored convoy.The brigade said a Leopard 2...

Iowa's list of the 35 lowest-performing schools now includes 12 from Des Moines

A dozen schools in Iowa's largest public school district have been identified by the state as "in...

At 8:21 a.m.: SpaceX set for Falcon 9 rocket launch from Florida’s Space Coast

SpaceX crews are preparing to launch a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday morning from Florida’s Space Coast.SpaceX is...

Sinkhole Swallows Motorcycles in Madrid After Water Pipe Breaks

A sinkhole caused by a burst water pipe forced a partial road closure in Madrid, Spain, on...

First-Ever Amber Discovered in Antarctica Shows Rainforest Existed Near South Pole

Imagine a time machine that could whisk you back to the age of the dinosaurs. Suddenly, you...

China's president will unveil a megaport in Peru, but locals say they're being left out

CHANCAY, Peru (AP) — On the edge of Peru’s coastal desert, a remote fishing town where a...