The Western Kentucky University student newspaper has received a grant to help cover the legal expenses related to the school’s ongoing lawsuit against the paper.
The College Heights Herald reports it was given a $10,000 grant from the Kentucky Press Association Legal Defense Fund.
The chairman of the fund has also pledged to provide additional financial support to the paper if it needs help fighting the lawsuit in the future.
WKU is suing the College Heights Herald after the school denied the newspaper's open records request for documents related to sexual misconduct investigations involving university employees.
The university maintains the records are not subject to disclosure under the Kentucky Open Records Act.
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear found that WKU violated the state’s Open Records Act and intervened in the lawsuit as a plaintiff.
The Herald also received a $5,000 grant last year from the Society of Professional Journalists Legal Defense Fund.