S.C. Court Says Records Law Can Apply to Some Nonprofits

South Carolina’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an education advocacy group that receives money from the state could be subject to its Freedom of Information Act, The State newspaper and the Associated Press report.

In a 3-2 vote, the justices ordered a lower court to determine whether the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, a group of superintendents, principals, and other school leaders that works on education policy, qualifies as a public body for open-records purposes.

A conservative Charleston radio host sued the educators’ association after it rebuffed his request for information on its involvement in a 2009 fight over then-Gov. Mark Sanford’s refusal to take federal stimulus money. A lower court had ruled for the nonprofit group.

An attorney for the association said the court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that any nonprofit group receiving government money should be subject to FOIA but that private entities deemed to be public bodies could be required to hold open meetings and release records.