Greg Abbott
AUSTIN(Legal Newsline) - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is being sued by a teachers' group that wants to keep personal information gleaned from teacher background checks under wraps.
The Association of Texas Professional Educators filed the lawsuit against the Republican attorney general and the Austin school board Monday.
The lawsuit came about after the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman newspaper requested the information found in the background checks.
The school district withheld the information, citing personnel confidentiality laws.
However, the attorney general's office ruled that some of the information was not protected under the law.
The teachers' union says sharing the information with the media could encourage sensational stories that don't in the end help protect school children.
Austin was the first district to enforce a new law requiring all certified teachers and substitutes to be fingerprinted by Sept. 1, 2011.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo by e-mail at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.